Some Things Are Felt
by Damp
Summary: It was the right time, an immaculate location, and an extraordinary group of people- the perfect combination for everything to go wrong.
1. Some Things Are Shaken Off

It had been a long two day vacation.

Between scrambling, hiding, running and being captured (again) there really was no point in bringing him back to this building. If he didn't learn his lesson the first 20 times, what made them think that he would learn it this time? It did nothing but revitalize his efforts in taking another break- he really didn't want to come back to this building, but the locked doors and windows in the car they had put him in didn't really give him any option other than to stay put. He would be looking forward to finally sleeping on a memory foam bed though. Memory foam was awesome for weary and tired bodies.

As the road took more hilly and denser forested roads, his time of peace was coming to an end. Though the building and area were beautiful, the other people in said area were of a lesser and more vile quality. They made him sick. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to run out and _live _again. He wanted to talk to _human beings _and he wanted to go back to a time when he wasn't afraid of everything for everything. It was out there, that chance at the life he once led.

He had experienced it before. The life he once had wasn't anywhere near extravagant as the life he led now- but it was so much better and nicer. He had had friends and people that cared about him- a family. But out of all the things he missed the most, he missed his dark haired friend. It had been almost two years since he had last had any news of him. Everything had been better when the two of them just hung out and did things together. All of his troubles, all of his worries, all of his doubts; they would all just go away and leave him more stable minded.

He still wrote to him sometimes, when things were really lonely and he didn't think the other was looking for him. It all just took a toll on him- he just wanted to vent and let it out. Even if the letters were never mailed (lest they be found and he be further punished) and even if they would never see the light of day to anyone other than him- writing those letters felt as if he had his dark-haired friend by his side. It was more than enough to push him through the day.

There was no signal this far out and away from the city. He was totally isolated from basically everything; his only real friend out here was nature. He loved nature and all, but being isolated like this could really wear down on someone who was accustomed to being the center of attention and surrounded by people he loved and cared about. Yes, he still was the center of attention, but the people that surrounded him now were not exactly his cup of ramen.

_Huh, sun's going down_, he observed. He edged himself away from the window in favor of just plopping himself onto the seat, giving him a view of the road up ahead. This area in general was just so beautiful; it always managed to keep him together just before the building came into view. He always imagined himself taking a dip in the little creek that was in this area- he had been to it a few times; one couldn't really see if from the road. You had to walk a little ways deeper into the forest, and if you still couldn't see it (because it was dark or you're just blind) one could always hear it. The soft and gentle _whisssh _sound, along with an even softer breeze that was very difficult to notice, but was always there.

The creek was crystal clear; one could see all the little pebbles, and if you had a good eye, you could spot all the toads/frogs and little fishes that would occasionally swim in that creek. When he had first found the creek, he was at peace with himself, and he vowed to visit this creek whenever he had the opportunity. He knew the chauffeur and body guards wouldn't let him outside of the car for even a second (they had learned their lesson), so he stayed quiet and just imagined the creek. Allowing himself just a few moments of peace before the storm truly hit him hard.

It was much darker now, by the time they all arrived at the gated building. His chauffeur and one of the body guards were gathering their weapons before they went outside to check for permission to enter, as well as to check for any possible escape routes- Same drill, they always did this. He wasn't fazed anymore. The only thing that ever changed was the reaction the chauffeur would have once he reached the intercom asking to be let in. The chauffeur's reaction always told him what to expect- whether what was going to be dished out to him was going to be tough or painful. If he tensed, then it was just going to be tough; if he calmly walked back- then he should be scared.

This time, the chauffeur just walked calmly back to the car.

The chauffeur turned to him and said, "You should be thankful" before starting up the car and pulling forward, just as the gates were opening up. The bodyguard that had also stepped outside was now stationed at the gate, watching after them. Stoic, poised, statuesque- he could never understand the logic of that posture the bodyguards always held. It must be very taxing on their bodies, standing still for so long, and then having to break out into a dead sprint/run.

He didn't want to think about it. What was waiting for him inside the building- to be honest, it was a mansion before it was turned into a building, and then finally turned into a mansion again. But due to the lack of warmth and kindness from the people that lived there, it remained a very dull and lifeless building. Anything of life that stepped into the building was instantly sucked dry and made enjoying anything (even sex) either very difficult or awkward. He hated it.

By now, it was pitch black, and the building seemed to be compensating for the lack of light. It was the only source at this point,. Not even the night sky could compare with how brightly lit this building was. He didn't want to think about what was waiting for him in the building- but the building being so brightly lit made it impossible to focus on anything other than what was heading his way. His breathing started to come in and out faster- but it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough air; he couldn't breathe.

His chauffeur and bodyguard were accustomed to this- they did nothing as his body began to tremble and shake. He couldn't see past the building. It was the only thing his eyes could see, but his body knew and felt all of the consequences his actions were going to bring. As much as he wanted to be brave and not regret his actions, there was that little voice in his head that told him _he really shouldn't have_.

The car was parking right in front of the building. He didn't turn to look outside of his window. He knew there would be someone right outside of it- he didn't want to face reality right now. He couldn't escape; his chauffeur was in the front, the doors were locked, and his body guard was blocking the only other exit. He just wanted to go- he wanted to go home, right now. Anything would be better than this. He never wanted this.

Just as he took a deep breath and turned to open his own door- it flew open and the arm that was reaching for the door was grabbed and pulled harshly. He fell to the ground in one go; there was shouting, but he did his best to tune it out. Everything would hurt ten times worse if he listened to the voice and what it was saying right now, as opposed to when it would be repeated more calmly and gently to him. When he was recovering or had recovered from his beating.

His body was being pulled so fast he couldn't keep up, he could only be dragged if he had any chance at keeping pace with the other man that was pulling his arm so harshly. He wanted to say something, but knew that if he so much as whimpered, he would be taken advantage of. He would be used again, and then locked away until he wanted to use him again. It wasn't like this at first- things used to so much better between the two of them.

Friends didn't do this to each other, right? They didn't imprison, hurt, main, torture, destroy and rebuild, only to repeat the awful cycle of pain. Maybe if he wasn't so bad at being obedient, or if he would just accept his new life- maybe none of this would be happening to him. He would be happier with this way of life; if it wasn't for the fact that he knew this wasn't the life he ever wanted to lead.

The man pulling him wasn't really that much older, but he was that much more powerful, in every sense of the word. He had short and uncontrollable red hair. When they were much younger, he would spend hours joking and playing with that hair, trying to style it into any shape. Trying to tame it, and failing each and every time- now, the roles of tamer had changed significantly. Only this time, he wasn't sure who would break first, and if they could ever recover from something like this.

The man had a lean body, but if one was fooled to think that they could beat him in a fight, they would be promptly placed in a hospital. When he wasn't doing 'business,' he was working out at the gym or practicing whatever sport he could entertain himself with. The man above him was a very well known and feared individual. And he was still screaming and pulling and dragging him all over the building- maybe this would be a public event and this time the nurses would know _exactly _what happened, instead of asking him, "_Does it hurt when I do this?_" or if he was 'okay'- really? Blood wasn't enough evidence anymore?

Finally, the man pulled him into a room that was painted, floor to ceiling, in shades of blue; even the furniture and appliances were blue. The color scheme in this room was making him sick and dizzy- or maybe it was just the fact that he wasn't breathing properly? He kept his eyes to the ground and refused to even glance at the other. He willed the floor to swallow him whole, for the blue to turn to water and drown him, for the light bulbs to explode and cut his jugular- _anything _to get away from this situation.

The red head began to adjust and calm down, just a little. At first, he didn't do anything but just stand above him and breath heavily through his nose. He could picture that face, the red hair would be in even more of a disarray than usual, his nostrils would flare open with every breath, and his dark honey colored eyes would be bulging from their sockets. He didn't look up and away from the ground to see if what he pictured in his mind was the same as reality- he knew it to be true. He felt the grip on his arm tighten before it was thrown back at him, almost as if to show the other's disgust at the thought of having to do this all over again- but he didn't have to. He didn't have to do this… They could go back to the way things were before, and things wouldn't be so hard and difficult for the both of them.

"Had fun." He kept his face planted to the ground, he didn't move, he couldn't (wouldn't) allow himself to breathe. He couldn't face the man when he was like this. It hurt so much more to see his face- the memories of everything would flash by him, and he would hate himself so much more for everything, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. But he still had to blame someone, even if it was himself, if only to feel even a little bit better.

"_Had fun_." He said again, whispering the last two words. And when he still wouldn't respond, the man raised his foot and kicked him in the face.

It hit him in his cheek, thankfully missing his nose. Unfortunately, he bit his tongue so hard all he could taste was his blood filling his mouth. His immediate reaction was to spit the blood out, but before he could do that, he was grabbed by his chin, "If you spit, this will be taken up to the bedroom, where we can get as dirty as I want. You know I prefer to get messy with you in the privacy of our bedroom, _Naru-chan._" He whispered his name seductively, tightening the grip on his chin.

When a swallow was his only response, and he still kept his eyes to the ground, the red head threw him to the ground. Kicking him several more times in the face, he soon grew tired of the silent treatment and proceeded to kick him all over. Starting from the shoulders, he placed two hard downward kicks, dislocating his shoulder. A loud '_pop_' was heard; he waited a little bit, letting the pain and shock settle in before kicking him again, this time, in his chest. From that single kick alone, three small but audible '_cracks_' were heard.

He was silent throughout most of the ordeal, the only sounds that came from him was the occasional grunt and gasp. But other than those sounds, he always tried to keep silent during these beatings. There was no satisfaction that was gained from this kind of punishment, they both knew this. It was just one way they dealt with the other. One would run away, and the other would just let him run away as far and fast as he could go, before setting the hounds out to bring him back.

He curled into himself, getting ready for another blow, and tensed his body for the worse. He took a few more shuttering breaths and tried his best to ignore the aches and pains in his body and soul. He still kept his eyes on the ground. If he turned to face the red head, he wasn't sure he would be able to hold it all in. Everything was too much already; he didn't want to deal with this any longer than he had to.

Tomorrow was going to be an awful thing to wake up to, no matter how nice the bed and the meds were.

"This is really starting to grate on my nerves, Naru-chan. I really thought you had learned your lesson. How many more times are we going to go through with this?"

Although he knew he would hurt so much more if he said anything- he couldn't help but whisper his response, "As many times as it takes, Kyu; Until one of us finally gets it." As he said this, he turned to look Kyu dead in the eyes.

Turning back wasn't an option at this point- but neither was running forward.

Just as he saw Kyu's eyes harden and the muscles tense, a slow and languid smile began to appear on his face. Tired and with pains beginning to appear in places he could no longer ignore, he wiped his mouth and noticed his fatal flaw- at some point, while his mouth opened and closed, when he was breathing through his mouth to bring life to words he knew he should have left for dead, blood had dripped past his lips. Looking down and to the ground, he saw a small trail of blood droplets leading straight onto Kyu's snow white shoes.

He quickly looked up to Kyu, only to feel a hand grab his hair and push his face into the floor. He was left breathless as he felt Kyu place himself on top of him, putting pressure in all of the areas that just plain _hurt _at this point. Even though things hurt so much, he still kept quiet and refused to make a single whimper or sound.

"I was hoping you'd say something stupid and cute like that. You see, babe, it's not _entirely _my fault you're in this predicament; we're both in this together. I try to make things as easy as possible, but you just love to be such a _problem_." As Kyu said this, the grip on his hair tightened and his face was smashed into the floor, a loud '_smack_' reverberating throughout the room.

Dizzy and hurt and confused beyond all measures at this point, he decided to give in and began to whimper, "Kyu, please, it hurts." He didn't even bother trying to swallow all the blood that had filled his mouth. He knew it was hopeless; a small pool of blood was already forming on the floor beneath him. It smelled disgusting and it was so cold. He just wanted to get away from it at this point, "Kyu, _please_, it hurts. I'm done, I swear, _I'm done_."

Kyu wouldn't release his hold, in fact, he tightened it and starting to poke and prod at his rib cage.

The fingers kept at this till finally, "You. _Always. _Say. That." He felt the weight on him disappear and then Kyu was gone.

Breathing was such a difficult task- he didn't even bother trying. As the edges of his vision began to turn black, he heard the hustle and bustle of nurses rush to his side and begin to check all of his vitals. No longer worried for his health (not that he usually was), he let himself slide into the darkness. Where there was no pain and nobody broke their promises, and it was just quiet, calm- and there was a certain dark-haired individual, waiting for him with open arms- it was just the two of them, and no one else.


	2. Heartbeat

**EDIT: This chapter has been edited and revised because I felt like it and I don't want to come yelling at me about sex this and sex that.**

* * *

><p>The curtains had been pulled back, allowing sunlight to stream in through the window and light up a majority of the room. The sun's rays warmed whatever it touched, giving the room a lazy and cozy atmosphere. The carpet was of a nice, soft and thick material, its mesh of brown, orange and gray colors perfectly complementing the dark red swirls on the wall and bed covers. The carpet was so nice, he didn't mind the fact that he was lying down on it instead of the bed- he also didn't mind the fact that he was only in his boxers.<p>

Actually, he was surprised Kyu allowed him to go to sleep with anything on in the first place.

Said person was still asleep- his deep and steady breaths, accompanied by his occasional animalistic growls, a continuous reminder that all was not over. Kyu had only allowed the doctors to administer minimal amounts of painkillers, but the doctors were kind and had administered a little bit more when Kyu wasn't looking. They knew that Kyu would punish him further, so they gave him as much of a fighting chance as they could to allow him to recuperate faster. Nothing ever ended quickly and quietly when it came to Kyu. It was only over when Kyu deemed him worthy of sleeping back in his arms. It was his way of saying sorry, as well as to remind him of the kind and caring choke-hold Kyu had on him.

He was perfectly comfortable with lying on the floor- he could think more clearly and calmly when he was by himself and not constantly being over-powered by Kyu. Everything always revolved around Kyu. He couldn't escape from him; it was a never-ending cycle of running and getting so far, only to be captured again.

* * *

><p>"<em>It looks like it's going to rain, maybe we should go back before we get poured on? Come on Naruto! I don't want my mom getting mad about the messes you make!<em>"

"_No it's not going to rain! And your mom loves me, so stop being such a sore spot!_"

_They had walked a-ways away from their small downtown village. Originally going to the library, they quickly changed plans when Naruto was struck with a severe craving for the cherries that grew on the outskirts of the forest that surrounded their hometown. Upon getting his full, Naruto demanded that they go and find the swing that was set up somewhere in the middle of the forest. The seat was a tire that was about the size of a full-grown adult, and roped by some of the thickest and strongest material the boys had ever seen or felt. _

_By the time they found the swing, it was getting to be dark out, making it look a little bit more foreboding then Naruto would have liked. Although he knew it to be strong and sturdy, it would take a bit of convincing for his friend to go on the swing with him. Sasuke was just a little bit smaller and skinnier than him, and he was also secretly afraid of heights and fast-moving objects, especially when combined, so swings were always a bit of a hurdle for him to overcome. Plus, Sasuke had a nasty habit of not holding onto things, causing him to always be the first person to be thrown off of anything._

_No thanks to this, Naruto was constantly begging and prodding and goading him into doing any activity that involved the playground, hanging out with friends and playing tag, hide-and-seek or any "high action" activity in general. It was a wonder Sasuke was able to stay so skinny._

"_Let's go!_"

_Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him over to the big tire._

_Sasuke retaliated immediately, _"_No. You can go on the swing, I'm just gonna head back._"

_He dug his heels into the dirt and grass, and shook off Naruto's grip on his arm. He stood his ground; eye's hardened, posture stiff, arms crossed and legs firmly planted to the ground. Sasuke was indeed skinny, especially when he wore his stupid black shirts and white shorts that would fall off of him if he didn't wear his belt, but what he lacked in muscles, he more than made up for with his mind._

"_The news said there was going to be a thunderstorm later today, remember? I don't want to get my clothes all dirty and my shoes all muddy. You know my mom doesn't like it when we track dirt all over my house._"

_Naruto frowned at him- it had been drizzling earlier, the clouds were bunching up and making ugly dark grays and dirty whites up in the sky, making it even darker out here in the forest. He turned back towards the swing; his smile slowly turning into a frown._

"_Not even one little push?_"

_Something seemed to cross Sasuke's mind, for his eyes widened a little bit before turning into a glare, _"_Never. Again._"

_Just as he finished saying that, Naruto remembered the other time he had brought Sasuke over to the swing and asked Sasuke to give him a push… Sasuke was totally unprepared for the weight of the tire and was thrown four feet across the air. His pride never really recovered after that._

_Turning, Sasuke started walking back home at a brisk pace, leaving Naruto with no choice but to follow._

* * *

><p>Although he was on the floor, cold, tired, battered and in pain- remembering that arrogant, self-centered, son-of-a-bitch Sasuke flying four feet in the air always brought a smile to his face.<p>

There was a rustling sound, and it was enough to bring Naruto back to reality. His eyes were still on the ground. He didn't have the energy to lift his head and get a good look at what was going on in the bed with Kyu. He felt every now and then a soft breeze sweep over him- he just kept hearing a rustling sound, _papers being moved about_?

He could just picture Kyu, working in his office, his face hitting the table every now and then (from frustration or lack of intelligent people), the whimpers that would escape from Kyu's mouth (realizing that burning the stack of paperwork won't actually make the workload go away). His tie and suit would be crumpled up on the floor, along with his dark red and bright blue messenger bag. Kyu would just be sitting on his desk, taking a nap and not caring about what was going on right now, so long as he was allowed to nap.

Kyu would never bring his work in to the bedroom (that's why he had an office), much less onto the bed.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and, with this new found energy, Naruto got up slowly and carefully. His shoulders protested, and his arms were getting shaky from holding his weight. His legs were really sore, and his chest was making it hard to breath. He plopped himself on his butt gracelessly, his arms no longer able to hold his weight, and his shoulders not wanting to cooperate anymore. For the most part, there was no excruciating pain; the meds were doing their job and keeping most of it at bay. His chest was really the only thing making it's dull aches known and preventing him from breathing properly- _why was it so much harder to breath_?

He gave up trying to keep a slow and deep breathing pace, instead, gathering the courage to look up and over to the bed- where a small pile of papers were scattered around the floor of the bed. Lifting his head even higher, he noticed papers were littered all around Kyu, and he was holding some more papers in his hand. He couldn't make out what the papers had written on them, but he could tell that they were hand written-

"'_-Don't worry, it's not anything I can't handle, I've been through worse, remember? I'll totally pass my world history test. And if I don't, then I can just bring my grades up with doing a better job on my homework. Though, to be honest, you really were the only one who could get me to finish any homework assignment- I miss you, Sasuke. Please respond._" When Kyu was done reciting from the papers he was reading, he removed them from his face, raising a brow at Naruto.

Naruto's blood ran cold.

Kyu moved to get up and out of the bed, throwing the rest of the papers up in the air. The papers flying all around, creating a little blizzard- it looked beautiful and the moment was so serene. He had spent hours at a time on those letters, perfecting his handwriting. Making it legible wasn't enough; he wanted to make his handwriting look beautiful- as beautiful and flawless as Sasuke's had been.

And the moment was gone, replaced by a ground-shattering calm before the storm.

"You know, babe, it's kind of hard for Sasuke to respond to your letters if you never send them out. I mean, it takes two to make a decent and proper conversation, not just one. No matter how wonderfully you may have mastered such a feat." He took a step towards Naruto, his footstep mechanical, calculating, and worst of all, steady.

Naruto was still on the ground, his head tilted up to look at Kyu. His body felt so cold and stiff, he was having an even harder time breathing; his chest having no correlation with this. He couldn't stop himself from flinching when Kyu took another step towards him- once you've been exposed to the power in those legs, it was hard not to be scared senseless of them.

Kyu was on top of him. Bending down and over Naruto, being every bit intimidating as Kyu was known for and he remained in this position- the effect it had on Naruto being instantaneous. Naruto began to tremble, his shoulders hunched over and his head immediately snapped to the ground. He was unsure of what Kyu had in store for him. He bent his head lower to the ground, never being able to face Kyu when he was this mad.

The red head placed a firm and heavy hand on his shoulder and pushed Naruto even further into the floor; Naruto not putting a resistance of any kind to this action. Kyu kept pushing him down until his face and shoulder touched the ground. His lower body was still in the seated position, making his whole posture take that of a bow.

He felt Kyu move a little bit, and his other hand soon began to touch and prod at his back.

"It's been a while since you've seen him," his voice took on a tone of forlorn misery; and Naruto just wanted to die, "Even after all that he's done, you still can't let him go… Not even for me?" He whispered the last bit, but a steady and increasing roar soon took over his voice, "Not after everything I've done- to protect you, to bring you back to me, after all of my attempts to make you _happy_. It's not enough- Why? _Why isn't it enough_?"

Kyu lost it, and pushed Naruto fully to the ground, "_Why won't you let him go_?He left you to _die_. I did what I could to help you get back on your feet. I dealt with your aftermath- _I warned you about him!" _The man's voice left a ringing inside Naruto's empty head; Naruto didn't want to think back to that time- so he made his mind blank.

"I picked up _all _of the pieces, hoping and praying that it wasn't too late," Kyu's voice returned to a whisper, but Naruto's face was still to the ground, and all he had were his ears to warn him of anything, "But your heart was never among them, was it?"

He heard a soft _fwop _as something hit the ground next to him and felt Kyu's hands begin to touch the rest of his body.

Kyu was no longer holding him down, he didn't need to, and, instead, laid himself down on top of him. He felt something hard shove itself between his ass-cheeks and before he could protest, Kyu had already ripped his boxers off. Hands were on his shoulders again, and this time they grabbed harshly and threw him on to his back, forcing him to come face-to-face with Kyu.

At once, Kyu attacked his neck, his teeth biting harshly and mercilessly at the skin in whatever area he could reach. His arms were still to his side, but he was so shocked he just left them there. Kyu was still biting at his neck, swiping his tongue over every droplet of blood that escaped from within his skin due to the harsh treatment. Kyu nestled himself in-between Naruto's thighs, preventing him from closing his legs. Hands were touching the rest of his body, but the blond chose to ignore them to the best of his ability.

He took a deep breath, a task made more difficult when his chest flared up in pain, and let himself calm down, just a little. Maybe, if he waited it out, Kyu wouldn't do anything else other than touch him. Maybe, this time, Kyu would stop, and demand an apology or promise that they both knew the blond would break.

He let Kyu continue with his ministrations- flinching every time a finger made a gentle swipe across his chest. Every now and then, a small whimper would escape from his mouth; his attempts at voicing his displeasure would die as soon as they tried to leave his mind.

Without his realizing, the hands slowly traveled up towards his neck.

Kyu's hands wrapped themselves around his neck and immediately began to tightening their hold. Naruto tried to make eye contact with Kyu to display his alarm, but the red head's hair had fallen over his face, effectively covering it and preventing their eyes from directly meeting. Kyu's breathing was strained, and he was growling- the veins in his arms were bulging, and the rest of his body was tensing up.

The grip around his neck tightened further.

He hadn't been able to breathe properly for the past ten hours, and he was going to pass out soon if Kyu didn't let go of his throat. His chest was starting to burn, and his eyes were getting misty, blurring his vision and only adding to the panic. He grabbed at Kyu's hands, allowing his actions to speak for him, and giving evidence to his terror. His mouth opened and closed in a desperate attempt to convey his apologies and beg for forgiveness.

"Hey, you don't look so good. Here, let me help."

Releasing one hand from his throat, he used it to gently wipe at Naruto's eyes, before balling it up into a fist and punching him in the stomach. Naruto's eyes bulged and was forced to use the last of his air supply to gasp in response to the pain. Once Kyu fully released his throat, Naruto grabbed at his own stomach- gasping and sucking in air, sobbing.

Not once did Kyu get off of him during this whole ordeal, only adding more weight whenever it looked like Naruto was about to try crawling away from him.

He chuckled, "Did that help? I hope it did, I really don't want to resort to it again."

By the end of it, Naruto was coughing, an action that further added to his pain. He chose to keep quiet, and hoped Kyu would get it over and done with- he no longer cared; he got the point. He didn't want to be told twice when once was more than enough.

"Naruto," Kyu breathed out as he leaned down to the boy's ear and whispered, "You're the idiot that ran away; you know the consequences for doing so."

Naruto trembled, his heart sank, and he swallowed the sob that was trying to escape. He waited a little, allowing his body the allotted time it would need to relax. He turned his head away from Kyu and breathed deeply before asking, "How long?"

He missed the gleam in Kyu's eyes. Naruto didn't see the demonic grin take over Kyu's face, and he didn't see when Kyu lit up like a Christmas tree, but he _felt_ all of those things, and he knew the answer to his question.

"Long enough."

Heat came off of the red head in waves, drowning Naruto with its near unbearable temperatures and blinding light. The flames covered Kyu's body, but the man did not scream or gasp from pain. Instead, he seemed to be taking pleasure from them.

Quickly, the flames crawled away from Kyu and began making their way over to Naruto who was still beneath the red head. When they first touched him, the flames didn't burn or scar him. They just clambered over his stomach and just gathered there.

Once all of the flames left Kyu's body and were on Naruto's stomach, the man whispered, "Go."

Pain erupted from his stomach and Naruto whimpered helplessly as the flames sank and sat inside of his stomach. With every flame that entered him, the blond writhed in pain and cried loudly. There wasn't enough room in his stomach, though, to hold all of the little flames. They spread out.

Sweat was pouring from his face in buckets as the heat and pain invaded him. Naruto felt every movement from the flames as they pranced around inside of his body. Glancing at his stomach, he noticed that the pile of flames weren't even at their half-way point.

His chest was the area he was most concerned about, though. With the rough treatment from earlier, it was a wonder his ribs hadn't completely collapsed and crushed his lungs. Now, however, there was no doubt in his mind that his recovery wouldn't be quick. These flames were going to do their best to deal the worse damage to this area.

As Naruto became distracted by the increasing pain and torridity, he failed to notice when Kyu got up and off of him. The man stood stock still a few feet away from him and was closely watching the blond writhe in agony as the flames finally reached his chest. Kyu didn't flinch when he heard a '**snap**' come from the boy's rib cage.

Shortly after the snapping noise, Naruto's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted. The blond stopped moving shortly after that.


	3. Set Fire To It All

The cars, trucks and semi's were coming and going faster than he could keep count and were in wide ranges of size and color.

When the white trucks came in, all of the medical and chemical equipment was piled in as carefully and quickly as the loaders could work. Boxes containing beakers, glasses, computers, needles, and the rest of the easy-to-break objects were placed on the floor of the semi's and tied as tightly to the walls of the truck as possible. Other things, such as the chemicals, were tightly packaged in tiny styrofoam casings that were then put into suitcases and would go into the cars that were arriving and leaving by the boat-load.

After they had gotten rid of all the more expensive and prized products, the brown and black moving trucks would come in to take the rest of the properties that were left inside of the building. They just needed to move a few more things before they could start to set up the detonators around the house.

The only good thing about living this far out into the forests of Konoha was the lack of authorities and curious civilians. No one asked questions this far out and void of human life.

Questions that might concern: the cars and trucks moving enough equipment to put a clinic to shame, the workers and loaders moving like clock-work at the drop of a hat, and the bodyguards that were standing at attention- holding guns at the ready and more than happy to pull the trigger if given the signal.

Yeah, no one would notice or care for these types of things this far out into the forests.

Kyu was taking care of things outside of the mansion, while he was left to over-see things inside. With both of them at the helm of this entire operation, no shred of DNA, data, money, or any evidence would be left behind. The only thing the Blues would find, if they even got there in time, would be a pile of smolders, and maybe a skull or two, depending on Kyu's mood.

Kyu was a very violent person, even more-so when someone fucked up and was the reason behind this whole move. They wouldn't have to go through all this trouble, if only someone hadn't gotten drunk and accidentally tipped an undercover cop about their hidden chemical labs. There was a reason drunks were never hired to work with them- they could never keep their mouths shut for long.

His thoughts were dragged elsewhere when a woman, almost twice his age, came up to him with some files in her hand. She had beautiful curly red hair and her eyes held a nice sparkle to them; when engaged in conversation, she wasn't shy to express her mind- In short, she didn't, really, belong in this kind of environment.

But then again, money had a way of talking people into doing some of the stupidest things Naruto had ever seen or heard of.

She had just been hired and was still adjusting to the way things worked around here. It was Naruto's job to install loyalty amongst the workers here, so when she stood next to him, he turned all of his attention towards her. The smile he pasted on his face, one of complete and genuine care for her and what might be troubling her.

"What's up, Kurenai?"

"Hello, Naruto," she returned his smile, and brandished the files she held in her arms, "I was wondering what you wanted to do about some of these documents that are in a few of the file cabinets."

He took them from her hands, looking them over and making sure that they didn't hold any important information. As he did so, he let her continue her train of thought, "I'm pretty sure we moved all of the more important documents, but, you know, I just want to make sure we got everything."

Noting that the files were just compiled lists of groceries that they had needed to get for the mansion, at some point or another, he gave the files back to her. She took them and waited patiently for his instructions.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, aiming another smile her way, he said, "Don't worry 'bout those, just throw them into the moving trucks." She nodded her head and went back to the rest of the rushing workers.

Shortly after that he walked slowly and carefully throughout the rest of the mansion, answering questions and giving out orders to the workers. His eyes and mind taking everything into account; scanning the rooms, sweeping the hallways, and checking the corners of the mansion, he would not leave that premise till he was satisfied with the result.

Every now and then, he could feel his body begin to give way to his fatigue and dull aches that continued to haunt him. But he spared no time for these thoughts or concerns. His escape incident had been almost two weeks ago; these pains were old news and should not be affecting his work ethic at all at this point.

He didn't care- no matter how tired and pained his body felt, he would not allow the workers to see just how badly battered Kyu had left him. He had a job to do, and he was going to see it through, his body be damned. There was a reason meds were created, and they would be more than enough to see him through this task. Nothing, not even eyelash hairs, would be left behind, and he would make sure of it.

* * *

><p><em>Not even sparing him a glance, Kyu began to put on his clothes, slowly and smoothly, turning his back to him. Naruto was still on the floor, his body naked and decorated with newly forming bruises. Every now and then, he would shake and tremble, the aches and pains in his body coming back ten-fold. The cold wasn't helping much either.<em>

_His lips were ripped raw and swollen from all of the kiss's Kyu bestowed upon him. And he couldn't stop spitting out blood unless he wanted to drink it. Every now and then, his eyelids would begin to droop, but then they would immediately snap open- he didn't want to give Kyu an opening he couldn't resist._

_He was so warm, but his body wouldn't stop shivering, _maybe it's a fever?_ The oncoming head-ache, though, pretty much prevented any and all attempts at thinking straight. Doing _anything_ physical at this point was next to impossible._

_He couldn't lift his head off of the ground, so he just settled for staring blankly at Kyu's feet. He had tried to wrap his arms around himself, but that only served to let him know where else he was hurt. So he just settled for leaving them at his sides._

_For now, the only position that caused the least amount of pain, was laying down on his side. He had tried the fetal position, but he couldn't even close his legs without causing his spine to scream. He didn't want to try his luck and bend his body into a position that would only cause him greater pains._

_Kyu was done getting dressed, and was walking around slowly. He made it across the room, towards their dresser, and began to pull out articles of clothing, dropping some to the ground, before he made his way back to Naruto._

_Kyu knelt beside Naruto, showing him very comfortable and soft looking fox paw-printed pajama pants, "Here." He whispered quietly. _

_For a very brief moment, their eyes met, and in that moment, Naruto lost it all again._

_He started breathing faster, and the shakes became more violent and frequent. He felt something wet and warm start to drip from his eyes, and he could hear himself start to sob. With his sub-consciousness haunting him, his head-ache exploded and his body decided to let it be known just how truly fucked he was._

_His chest felt crushed, his head was exploding, his arms were tired, he couldn't feel his hands or feet, he was cold and confused and warm and angry and sad, the blood and its scent were making him nauseous, his ass and spine _hurt,_ it ached to breathe in and it ached to breathe out, _why was he still alive_? _

_He could hear someone calling out his name, but he was in so much pain, physically and mentally, he didn't care to respond. He just knew that meds would soon be administered if he kept this up, and _goddamnit_, he deserved to get meds for this kind of pain._

_He didn't notice the broken and disturbed look that came across Kyu's face._

"_Naruto." _

* * *

><p>"Naruto?"<p>

Shaken from his thoughts, he turned quickly to face the person that had called out to him, "Mm?" He rubbed his hands against his pants and fully removed himself from the room he was about to enter, pasting another smile on his face, "What's up?"

It was Kurenai- this time though, she was holding a cup of water and some pills in her hand. She gave him a smile and handed him both objects, "The doctors said you looked a bit tired and suggested you take these before we head off to the next destination."

He gulped the pills dry, but took the time to appreciate the cool and refreshing taste of water. When he finished, he handed her back the glass and thanked her. She didn't immediately turn away from him; instead, she took a step closer to him.

He stood stock-still as she gently placed a hand to his check, effectively checking his temperature. She threw a smile at him, "They also wanted me to check on your temperature. They don't think it wise for you to be moving around, much less over-seeing this whole thing."

To which he shot back, "Yeah, well, maybe someone should have kept an eye out for the drunk who tipped the cops."

She chuckled at this and removed her hand from his cheek, letting it come back to her side. When she continued to just stand there, he raised a brow and inquired, "Was there something else, you wished to discuss?"

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes rolling over to the left before they came back to him, "I was wondering if- I mean, if we're allowed to know -the location of where we're heading?" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her heels making a slight _clickin_g sound against the hardwood floors.

Naruto couldn't help but frown at her inquiry. On one hand, he wanted to tell her, but on the other hand, no one, outside of Kyu, himself and the drivers, were allowed to know the whereabouts of their next location.

"I'm sorry, Kurenai, but I'm not allowed to hand out that kind of information."

Her lips formed a frown of their own as she replied to him, "I know, but you know, I already told my family what I do, and they understand. I mean, if we're heading off somewhere far away, I'm worried I won't be able to see them as much as I want to. And they're going to want to know why I can't see them anymore, or as often as I used to."

His brows shot up and his body tensed as he calmly asked, "You told your family what you do for a living?"

Her laugh came out as a snort and she squeaked out, "No! Oh, god, my mother would have a heart attack!" She covered her mouth, trying (and failing) to keep her laughs as quiet as possible.

"I'm a pharmacist. Remember?" She winked at him.

Her laughs ceased and she continued on, "But, you know, my excuse, up until now, has been my workload and work schedule. And with the holiday's coming up, I'm thankful for all this money, but what's the use of it, if I can't spend some of it on my family and friends? You know what I mean?"

Although he was second-in command, he was just as necessary as Kyu. If not for him, Kyu wouldn't have gotten nearly as far, or as fast, as he was. He was single-handedly responsible for the huge sums of 'donations' that were given to Kyu and was often described as 'godlike' for a reason. Where Kyu was the muscle and brains, Naruto was the persuasion and charisma.

He reached out for her hand, a gentle but firm smile placed on his face. He could sympathize with her- being new to everything and then being forced to head off to the unknown, not being able to tell your family or friends why you can't see them.

All of these things, he could very well sympathize with her. And he was able to portray that perfectly on his face as he spoke to her, "Don't worry. As soon as we have all these things packed, we'll be able to head off to the next building. Once there, we can all figure things out better."

He saw the hesitant look on her face, so he further pushed his point, "And if things still aren't working out, we'll look into giving you some _paid holidays,_ or something. Huh? How 'bout it?"

He loved mentioning money, it always helped his cause.

Her face brightened up at the thought of more money. "Yeah, sure. Once we get there, I'm sure I'll be able to think up something to tell my folks."

She nodded her head once, and then walked away from him. When he could no longer hear the _clicking_ and _clacking_ of her heels, he resumed his walk around the mansion and continued with his sweeps. Successfully ignoring the pains in his body still haunting him.

* * *

><p>Almost everyone had left, the only ones that remained were Kyu, a few bodyguards, the guy in charge of pushing the button to make the mansion go 'boom,' and himself. They were all kind of scattered around the perimeter, checking and making sure the area was clear and devoid of any possible 'mishaps' that could bring attention to this whole operation.<p>

Everything had been calculated and taken into account for. Consideration of the weather, to the time of day, to the detonator placement- nothing was being left to chance. If a single leaf, branch, or bush, that wasn't planned or calculated for, caught fire and spread out to the forest- they would be fucked.

Royally, truly and totally _fucked_.

Sure, the mansion was going to get blown to pieces, no matter what the outcome. Any and all important evidence had already been collected so no worries there. But they didn't want to create a situation where the forest rangers would take notice of all the smoke and be forced to call the cops sooner than he and Kyu would like them to be called.

If the fire got out of control, it would give the cops more than enough reason to unnecessarily investigate around the areas where they most frequently sold their products. The Blues had been tipped off, so it would only make sense that they look into the more shady areas of Konoha. That would slow down sales, which would have major drawbacks for Kyu, which in turn would cause problems for himself.

Walking across the front yard and towards the mansion, he decided to take a small break. He seated himself down on soft green grass, shutting his eyes to help block out the bright sun. Just as he was about to take a small nap, right there, out in the sun and cool breeze, his walkie-talkie crackled to life.

A gruff and irritated voice snapped out, "You can sleep in the car. Get back out here and search the rest of the area."

Something inside him told him to just throw the walkie-talkie up in the air and let it fall to the ground… But he took a moment to count to ten and continued to just lay down on the ground. When no other orders were given, he gave a huff, and got up- his bodyguard (Kyu's eyes and ears) following close behind him.

"Might as well take one last look around the place." He grumbled out before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

Just as he was about to head off into the foliage, not bothering to look down and watch where he was going, he tripped over his feet. He braced himself for the impact, but a hand gripped his shoulder, preventing his face from kissing the ground.

The hand tightened its grip, pressing against the bruise he had there, and pulled him back to his feet. He grimaced and turned away from his bodyguard, but did nothing else. He just let his feet take him to where he needed to be.

"If you're that tired, you should take things more slowly."

Not even bothering to turn around to face his bodyguard, he spat out, "If Kyu thinks I'm fit to walk and work, then I'm fit to walk and work."

He continued his trek to the thicker part of the woods surrounding the mansion. Only barely ignoring the soft footsteps that followed him. No doubt it was his bodyguard keeping close watch over him, a fact that pissed Naruto off to no end.

It's not like he had anywhere he could go, _but I guess he just doesn't want to face Kyu's wrath if I did manage to escape._ He couldn't really blame the guy for keeping such a close eye on him. When faced with someone like Kyu- it was always best to just do as he ordered.

He slowed down his pace, taking his time to appreciate the quiet and calm that could only come from nature. He wouldn't be able to enjoy this kind of silence, not where he was going. If Kyu did keep his word, then Naruto could look forward to spending more and more time being homeschooled and being chained to all four walls of their next destination.

Kyu had made sure that their next living arrangements didn't have any fire escapes, back doors, or even a balcony.

As his thoughts took a darker route, he couldn't help but wrap his arms around himself, his body beginning to feel a bit too chilled. He stopped completely and took one last look in the surrounding area- noting that the leaves were crisp and the branches dry, ensuring a fire to this area- before heading back to the car.

He reached for grab his walkie, wanting to let Kyu know that everything was set and ready to go. However the need to do such a thing was nullified when his bodyguard beat him to the punch. He put away his walkie and just continued his walk towards the vehicle.

He could hear them over his shoulder, "Everything's set, sir."

A crackle, and then a voice that didn't belong to Kyu responded, "Alright, we're done over here. Just get to the car."

Needing no further provocation, he quickened his pace. He wanted to get the whole thing over and done with at this point. All they had to do was press a stupid button and the building would be gone forever. _Good riddance_.

It was a shame that they had to destroy this part of the forest, but it had to be done. Nothing could be left behind; it's not like they could just move the entire mansion. Too many would ask questions and no, they would not be answered. No, this was the only option and it was the best one.

Thanks to his bodyguard keeping perfect pace with him and having a hand or two in keeping him from falling flat on his face, he managed to get to the car in one piece. Not sparing more than a glance at the people in the other cars, he sought out Kyu.

He gave a huff when Kyu wasn't immediately spotted, _where is he?_ Not finding him amongst the rest of the crowd, he started walking towards the back of the mansion (where Kyu had originally set out to search the area). Just as he was about to walk past a grey Bentley, a hand reached out and took hold of his hand.

He didn't turn to see who it was, who else would dare touch what belonged to Kyu? A small smile began to make its way towards his face. Kyu only ever reached for his hand when he wanted to be play the nice card.

No doubt, Kyu wanted to chill and rest a bit before they got moving. This was more like the Kyu he knew and loved- before the gangs and drugs and money began to have a bigger and stronger influence.

Meaning they could cuddle for a little bit.

"Hey there, sexy." A smooth baritone voice called out.

This time, a full-fledged smile blossomed on his face, and he chuckled out, "S'up, handsome?" He turned around to face Kyu. Not surprised at all when what he saw took his breath away.

Leaning up against the grey Bentley and baring his sharp teeth in a smile that could scare a dentist, stood the 5'9" young man that wasn't afraid to make his presence and opinion known to the rest of the world. No one dared shut him up- and if they dared, it was because Naruto was getting sick of watching his ego get bigger.

His eyes were crinkling around the edges and giving off a mirth that was rarely seen, he could tell Kyu was enjoying himself immensely. Telling people what to do and actually being able to see the fruits of his labor was something Kyu lived and breathed for.

Feeling safe, for reasons that still eluded him, Naruto took a step closer towards Kyu, letting their chests gently bump against each other. He let his hands rest on Kyu's shoulders, whilst Kyu put a hand to the small of his back. He placed his head to Kyu's heart, listening to its soft and gentle thrum.

Instantly, without even realizing it, he collapsed against Kyu.

"Oph!"

"M'tird." He managed to muffle out, not caring for Kyu's grumbles and instead let him worry about his weight.

Kyu struggled for a bit before managing to get a firm grip on his body and keep him from falling to the ground. He knew Kyu could handle his weight, so he didn't fear falling. All he knew was the warmth that was resonating from Kyu's body, the arms that were holding him steady, and the gentle caresses to his cheek.

He sighed, wanting this to last forever, but knew- from the kiss to his cheek- that it was time to get going. Feeling Kyu's grip slacken, he took that as his cue to get off. Pulling away from Kyu's chest, he gave him a withering look.

"Sorry, but we got to get going soon…"

"Yeah, I know." And he left it at that.

Kyu moved away from the door to the Bentley and opened it for him, their driver and bodyguard already seated in the front. Getting comfortable in the backseat, he watched as Kyu turned around and gave a whistle, signaling to the others that it was time to go.

Like clock-work, the others started moving. He could hear the sounds of quieting conversations, feet walking, engines being revved up, doors opening and closing, and cars starting to pull away.

Kyu got inside the car with him, rolling down the window as he moved to sit next to Naruto. When he was comfortable, he pulled out a small cigarette and lit it, taking a deep breath as soon as it began to smoke.

Naruto had his back to the other door so he could better face Kyu and attack him with questions. Kyu rarely smoked, only doing so when he wanted to distract himself. He wasn't stupid. He knew Kyu had something up his sleeve. If he waited patiently, he knew Kyu would give in and tell him what's what.

He never really could stand being in the dark about anything.

All he could do until he saw an opening in Kyu's defense, smoking to avoid his questions, was to make faces at him. Just as he was crossing his eyes, Kyu reached into his back pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"How much farther?" he asked through it.

It crackled a bit before a voice responded, "Just drive for another 10 minutes at top speed, we just want to be far enough away so that the explosion doesn't blow our ears out or anything."

Kyu 'hummed' into the walkie, and set it down on his lap, his cigarette still in-between his lips. His interest peaked; Naruto began to poke his side, realizing that he wanted answers now instead of later. When all he received was a glare for his efforts, he puffed out his cheeks and glared right back at him.

Kyu couldn't resist that look (it always worked) and dropped his cigarette out the window. Moving closer to him, he reached over to start attacking Naruto's cheeks. Humoring Naruto by gently pulling and pinching the muscles, he continued to do such until a hand reached over and began to scratch the back of his right ear.

Before Naruto could move in for the kill, the walkie buzzed to life again, "Sir?"

Kyu immediately straightened up and grabbed the forgotten walkie from the floor (which had fallen at some point in their playfulness), "Yes?"

"We're far enough away- you can pull the switch now."

A feral grin appeared on Kyu's face, a similar one beginning to grow on Naruto's face, as Kyu's personal bodyguard handed him a switchboard. It was a very big thing, with flip switches and different colored buttons decorating its surface.

It had been a while since either of them had seen this very beloved device. It was a bit dented, and was rarely ever used due to the fear of breaking such expensive equipment, a nasty habit that Kyu couldn't shake off. Kyu's hand roved over the entire surface, before finally remembering which button he was supposed to push.

They both turned around in their seats to be able to get a view of the incoming explosion, their bodyguard and chauffer both glancing behind them, holding their breaths as Kyu pushed a grey button.

They were already so far away from the mansion and with such thick foliage surrounding the area, he was afraid they wouldn't be able to see the flames. At first, nothing happened, but then, a small orange flaming (and flailing) body blew out and into the pre-evening sky.

And just like that, a kaleidoscope of blues and reds and orange colors burst through the trees, all coming from the direction of a place that was once their mansion. Sparks would ignite and die as they hit the sky in a myriad of violent dances. Smoke was billowing out in crashing waves, but not enough to drown out the amazing picture of a collapsing mansion.

The mansion that had held him prisoner, a place that had forced him to face a forbidden truth, a building that reminded him of a cage and endless days, one of the few places on earth that made him feel nothing and everything at once…

It was finally gone.

His breath stolen, he did nothing as Kyu leaned in to his ear and whispered, "Beautiful."

**A/N: **

**All of my inspiration for these chapters comes from music. I love music, and I listen to all kinds of music, I can't get enough of this drug! So tell me, what kind of music do you guys like to listen to? I'm always up for new music and artists/bands that I've never heard of!**


	4. A Bit of a Breakdown

**A/N**

**So, I've been at this for the past week... And I still think that there are mistakes all over the darn thing... But it's been a week of just staring at this chapter and I would like to get a move on with the next chapter... So please forgive any mistakes you see on here! And please do tell me if you spot anything that seems off or doesn't make sense! **

**P.S. I need a beta... **

* * *

><p>"Gai! Gai! We need to call the fire department!"<p>

"What's happened?"

"Fire! There's a big- I don't know what happened, but we need to call the fire department now!"

"Wait… Where is this fire?"

"Just up north, maybe a 10 minute drive from here. It's huge! The smoke can be seen from all corners of the Forest! We need to call the fire department and the police for back-up and investigation! This was no natural disaster!"

She was out of breath by the time she was done with her tirade. Adrenaline and fear were still pumping fiercely through her veins, just barely giving her the strength to shout to him the important details of their situation. They needed to act fast if they wanted to catch the a-holes that had done this.

It had been quite the conundrum for her when she saw the glass windows shake for just a moment. It was enough cause for her to get up from her small front lobby desk and go explore the phenomena.

When she got outside and took a breath, she was further shocked by the rancid smell of smoke that hit her. She began to cough and sputter, unable to think as to where this stench was coming from. Panic hit her and she ran back inside the building to go and get a better view of the forest, dread beginning to form in the pit of her stomach.

She reached for her binoculars once she had reached the third floor, but as her eyes looked out into her beloved forest, her face fell at the sight that greeted her. Her hands trembled as she put away the binoculars.

Smoke was billowing out into the skies and covering a fraction of the forest in a disgusting and disfiguring black. Every now and then a spark coming up to greet the sky only to fizzle out and die before it could really start any more flames.

Whatever the state of the fire, she couldn't shake off the awful feeling in her gut. So she ran to go and inform her supervisor of the state of affairs in the forest. There were no elevators in the building so she had to run all the way up to the sixth floor, just one level short of the watch-tower roof.

She had burst through his door, and quickly explained to him what she had just seen. She had been expecting him to trip over his shoes with the news, his jaw to drop, his eyes to widen, for his breath to stop- something along the lines of her own state of mind. He was a man of gentle natures and loved all things animal and environmental- a forest fire always devastated him.

She was not expecting for him to just turn back to his work and say, "Ignore it for now."

She became even more confused when his office phone and walkie-talkie sprang to life with noise- and he sat unmoving, not making a single indication that something out of the ordinary was happening.

"Aren't you going to answer those?" she had asked him.

He simply turned to face her and said in a calm manner, "Do not worry. It was a scheduled forest fire; that area has a few things in it that needed to be ridden of."

Her eyes widened and she took a hesitant step towards his desk, "Gai, there are NO scheduled fires till September of 2010…We're still in the year 2009, Gai."

"TenTen." His voice stern and distant, the glow in his dark-brown eyes gone and his shoulders tense.

She didn't like the tone in his voice and responded cautiously, "Yes?"

"Drop it."

Thoroughly confused and distraught, she walked over to him and placed her shaky hands on his desk. She wasn't scared and she would not back down from a challenge- she wasn't going to be put in the dark about something like this.

It was so obvious that events were taking place behind her back, Gai was a terrible liar. Things like his three hour long 'walks' through the forest. For reasons he refused to talk about. She could forgive those little lies… But the fact that Gai was simply going to ignore something this huge pissed her off.

Something was wrong.

"What aren't you telling me?" she narrowed her eyes and dared him to say otherwise.

At that moment his voicemail picked up, effectively startling the both of them and preventing her from interrogating him. But the message was what sent her heart into a frantic beat, "Gai! I found the body they left behind! What the fuck am I suppose to do with it?"

She couldn't have possibly tensed up any further, as her supervisor, Gai, picked up the phone and shouted back, "Hide it, you moron! Or are you too much of an imbecile to figure things out on your own?"

Her eyes connected with Gai's, and for a brief moment her world stopped as he sighed out, while rubbing his stupid bowl cut hair, "And we have another problem."

* * *

><p>Sasuke woke up this morning with something dead in his mouth.<p>

Running to the bathroom, with his mouth wide open, he quickly spit out whatever was in his mouth once he got to the sink. While clenching his eyes shut, he turned on the water faucet to clean the bowl of whatever was inside his mouth. He counted to ten and peeked at the bowl hoping that it was just his imagination and he was simply overacting.

There was a small cripple-legged _thing_ right around the edge of the bowl…

Feeling bile rise up his throat, he ran out of the bathroom and downstairs to the guest bathroom. Thankful that the door was wide open, he kneeled in front of the toilet and retched. Not even caring that the bathroom door was open, he continued to retch and dry-heave till he felt better.

When he was done, he hugged his knees and just rested his head against the wall closest to the toilet. He didn't care that he only wore boxers and his signature necklace; that it was still very dark outside and that everyone in this house was a light sleeper; no one was going to be able to remove him from his sanctuary till he felt better.

It was nice and quiet around this time of night and he could faintly hear the crickets and frogs. He was soothed by the sounds and his eyes began to droop. His heart rate slowed to a calmer and quieter rhythm. Just as sleep was beginning to creep on him, his stopped breathing as he came to a sudden realization.

No matter what breed of bug or amphibian, there was no way in hell they would survive without some kind of pond, park, vegetation or something other. Something the city was completely and utterly void of…

Getting up from his position on the bathroom floor and he went to investigate the noise. Curiosity being a fiend or friend, he always went to her call. He had learned early on that ignoring her calls only lead up to a more painful way of learning Life's lessons, so he stuck by Curiosity in hopes of better confronting the inevitable.

With these thoughts in mind and perfectly comfortable with ignoring the warning bells going off in his head, he proceeded towards the source of the commotion. The front door was located directly in front of the second floor stairs which the guest bathroom was conveniently right underneath.

Taking a slow breath, he unlocked the door and braced himself for whatever may come his way. This was something that he knew wasn't going to sit well with him; he just knew it in his_ heart_ and _soul_. It was the small knot in his stomach- that only seemed to get bigger with every turn of the knob- that was one of his ways of measuring just how big or bad this discovery was going to be.

The knot was making him sick- just as sick as the dead spider in his mouth had made him.

He threw open the door- not caring about the slam because no one had woken up to his retching so they weren't going to wake to this small noise and well, fuck them for not checking on him earlier. He only managed to put one foot forward before the scenery completely exploded in his face and threw him so out of place he landed roughly on his behind. He was still only in his boxers.

_What the hell?_

He was on the floor and couldn't do anything, other than curse his luck, due to his temporary blindness. This new surrounding was sunny and because of such a harsh contrast from his nightly home, it completely screwed him over for any hope of finding out where he was. While the dark was soothing and allowed rest, the sun demanded attention and forced people to go and do_ something_.

Catching the hint, he rubbed his eyes in hopes of gaining his vision back while listening hard for anything to give him a hint of his surroundings. He was only further irked and worried when he was met by a somber sort of silence. One that clouded the area so thoroughly, he wondered if he had gone deaf too.

Feeling that it was safe enough to open his eyes, he was stunned by the vast colors that were swirling all around him. Flaming reds, billowing blacks, twisting greens, sparking blues, crumbling browns, flashes of white and orange twirled and danced before him, only adding to his confusion and not really helping him in the least.

Getting up, he reached out and tried to grab something orange- only to gasp when all the colors started moving to shape something. Flinching in pain when the colors managed to graze against him, he realized that the colors, the red ones in particular, were hot as all hell and sharp to the touch.

Those also seemed to be the most prominent color.

The colors soon began taking shape, forming some kind of structure and then filling the rest of his surroundings. Where he stood turned into grass, dirt, and gravel, forming a small path to the structure where most of the colors were gathering and still forming.

As the scene made itself clearer, he realized that the colors were actually pieces of debris. Dirt, pieces of trees, flying gravel, still burning walls, black smoke, and different colored sparks- not colors, but the destroyed surrounding that was flying around him.

Actually, most of the debris was flying away from him and going to form his surroundings. He realized with a start that he was watching something happen, but he was watching it all in reverse.

The brightness that had blinded him earlier was actually from an explosion, and those hot and sharp colors were the projectiles from the explosion. This explained the deafness- he had arrived right after the explosion had gone off.

When there was nothing left to listen to.

He blinked and marveled at the rapid pace everything was piecing itself back together. The trees, grass, and ground were the fastest and the first thing he could see in picture perfect detail. Next, was an odd assembly of cars that surrounded the-still-piecing-itself-together structure, which he now recognized as a building.

He watched and could only widen his eyes as people took shape and were walking around oddly, because everything was going about backwards. The people that were walking around were the reason for the growing scowl on his face. Whatever it was they were doing, it didn't look too good.

They were carrying boxes in and out of the building- it was looking more and more like a type of facility- and several of the men were openly carrying guns. It looked like they were all in a hurry and some of the cars had drivers already sitting down at the wheel.

Curiosity prompted him to walk around the cars and any fear of being seen was soon banished when they all continued to ignore his presence, even after he called out to them. He could hear small snippets of their conversation, but as he had no idea to their context, chose to keep them in the back burner for now.

He walked amongst the men, because although he couldn't see their faces, they were blurred, he could make out their gender thanks to the dark suits they were wearing. He couldn't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable with all of the knives that were casually and languidly thrown up and into the air, only to be caught in the same hands of the men that threw them up.

So maybe not all of them had matured fully, but they were very tall and well built. He doubted he could take one down easily, in fact, he doubted he could take them down in a fair fight. He was only 5'7" and weighing in at about 140 pounds- these guys looked like they could take him down with just a shove in the right direction.

He looked back towards the facility and narrowed his eyes when he noticed something. Not quiet believing it he began walking towards the facility and narrowed his eyes even further. One of the bigger men was leaning on a pillar at the entrance of the facility and although his face was blurred, he could still make out the shade of orange hair.

For a moment, he lost his focus as well as his breath.

_Nagato_

His eyes couldn't have possibly gotten any wider and his jaw was left wide open to catch flies. Words that he wanted to say, but couldn't, were stuck in his throat and he could only stand there and look like an idiot. His body froze as his mind was bombarded with thoughts and actions he could only ever dream of accomplishing to this man.

And then something snapped in his mind.

Anger- _rage-_, unlike any kind he had ever dealt with, exploded and ran rampant through his veins. He was so shocked and unprepared for the violent onslaught of emotions, he didn't realize what he was doing up until he had fallen flat on his face.

Something foul was being breathed into his ear, but so strong and uncontrollable was his rage, he couldn't for the life of him make out what was being said to him. He heard himself growl and felt the ground beneath him tremble and quake.

There was a weight on him that refused to budge, no matter how much he struggled and pushed. Giving up on the weight, he craned his neck so that he could catch a glimpse of Nagato. It took a bit, but when he maneuvered his shoulders so that most of the weight was on his left side, he caught a glimpse of him.

Nagato was just standing there, not really caring for what was going on. _As if I wasn't here_… That thought pissed him off to no end, and he renewed his efforts to push off the weight on him. _How dare he! How dare he _fucking- _! Fuck him! _FUCK. THIS!

He screamed and with one last gruntwas able to remove the weight on top of him. He didn't look back to see what was on top of him, he didn't care. All that mattered was that Nagato was right in front of him and that no one was going to be able to stop him.

This was going to be his moment of triumph.

Nagato was walking away from him when he got up. His back was turned- an opportunity he knew he would not get twice- and he ran at him with his arms ready. He fingers felt the smooth trusses of his orange hair and didn't think twice when his hands wrapped around Nagato's neck.

He was going to make this quick, but he wanted Nagato to get a good look at the person who was going to be the cause of his death. Nagato was going to die, and that would be the end of it all.

His family and his friends would be safe.

Just as Nagato knelt down to the ground and was breathing his last, he was knocked down and forced to the ground. He blinked once, not quiet understanding what had just gone down. Lifting his head off the ground, he snarled when he realized that Nagato was now standing.

And it looked like he was laughing.

A thought that only fueled his rage and made him get up and charge at Nagato without thinking. Swinging his fist in blind rage, he threw wild punches left and right; he didn't care that his fists weren't connecting with any part of Nagato's flesh. Actually, he wasn't really paying attention to anything other than Nagato. He was here and he needed to be taken down _now._

While he was fighting Nagato, he didn't notice that the background was changing again. It wasn't until he miscalculated one of his punches- which Nagato gracefully dodged- that he realized, with a small gasp leaving his lips, just how small his hand had become. He took a couple of seconds to marvel at this, looking at the rest of his body and noting that it, too, had become small.

It was as if he was a small child again.

_Where am I?_

Glancing around his surrounding, he noted that the cars and forest were gone, the sun disappeared, and that the men, along with Nagato, had vanished. The only thing that remained from the previous setting was the brightly lit facility from before. He was left in the dark, literally, and as if adding to the madness, his surroundings began to crumble and give way.

_He got away…_

Confusion and anger were currently clouding his instinct to run inside the facility- which seemed to be the only thing that wasn't affected by the oncoming destruction of their surroundings- and wariness began to settle into his bones. That confrontation had drained a lot out of him and left him wanting to spite Curiosity for pulling such a stunt.

He was in his house, then he was in a forest with Nagato - and now this? What was going on? He knew better than to ignore Curiosities call, but he just didn't trust his new surroundings.

He was still breathing pretty hard from the amount of energy he had exerted while fighting- if you could even call it that- Nagato. The fact that he hadn't been able to land a single blow against Nagato angered the hell out of him.

But it only added fuel to his flame.

He was slowly, but surely, inching his way towards the prize. The only prize that mattered at this point. The only thing that could put a destroying dent in the drug industry that was currently having its way with Konoha.

With these thoughts in mind, he calmly walked towards the facility. Every step he took towards the facility seemed to make it glow brighter, as if a beacon in the middle of all this destruction. This similarity did not go unnoticed by him.

A frown found its way to his face as he made it to the pillars. Feeling eyes on him, he hesitated just as he rested his hand on the shiny doorknob. Casting one last glance behind him, he couldn't help but feel a small flutter in his stomach as he noticed a small blond-haired boy wave at him from the dark and crumbling distance.

Sasuke wasn't able to make out the rest of his face as it was covered by the boy's blond strands of hair. He was only able to make out that the boy was calmly standing with one arm behind his back, the other still waving to him, a warped smile slowly spreading across his lower face.

If it wasn't for the Nagato encounter, he would have sworn it was just his head playing games with him. As it was, he knew something was being displayed to him, something important was trying to convey its message to him.

He let go of the doorknob for just a second, a brief and awful second, and in that moment a scream so piercing and loud hit his ears and shook him to the core. The ground beneath his feet gave way and, with nothing to grab a hold of, he fell.

* * *

><p>He awoke with a pounding headache and a sore body. Every muscle at his disposal was on lock-down and refused to move. The covers he was currently under only helped destroy his resolve to get up and out of bed. And the stupid sun that was peering out of his curtains wasn't helping any either.<p>

As it was, the alarm- which was what awoke him- was blasting and his ears and headache could only ignore it for so long. Releasing a groan, his arm begrudgingly crawled towards the source of sound and promptly punched the 'off' button on his alarm.

He was further annoyed when he noticed just how clingy and hot it was beneath the covers. Ignoring those little things was easy, but ignoring the pounding in his chest was not. Getting up from his pillows in a quick and panicked manner, he couldn't help but feel something was not clicking.

Nightmares were easy things to get over and forget, but this was entirely different. This was a night terror that had invaded him, body and soul, leaving him defenseless and weak.

A spider the size of three houses coming after him was something he didn't want to think about, but he could deal with those imaginings. Killers hiding behind a bush, wielding a bloodied axe and getting ready to strike was something his relatives had had to deal with in the past. Not now and no sweat; he carried a gun with him at all times.

Reason was his main defense against the nightmares, against things that made him shiver and repulse, and helped fight off the insecurities he sometimes felt in the face of opposition. This entity was an unknown, as well as familiar, foe he had never conquered in any way, shape or form.

These thoughts only made him grip his sheets and glare at his lap.

He was confused and the only people that could answer his questions were out of town for the next few hours. This thought only served to irk him some more; there would be no relief from these thoughts until his father or Kakashi came back.

Glancing at the clock, it was 7:17 AM, he thought a hot shower was what would soothe his sore body. Noting that the door was closed, he lifted up his sheets with his left arm and revealed the rest of his naked body to the room. Shivering slightly, he let the cool artificial air circulating around his house work its magic and wake him up fully.

With a sigh, he heaved himself off of his queen sized bed and padded over to his drawers to grab a fresh and clean towel. His feet barely made a sound against the hardwood floor, his ears focused toward the door and on the alert for any sign of life outside his room.

Sensing no one, he grabbed a towel at random and walked towards his door. Pulling it open, he walked calmly toward the bathroom that was just down the hall. Shivering, he hugged the towel tighter against his body, doing the best to keep warm in his too-well ventilated house.

Upon reaching the bathroom door he glanced around the hall, not feeling up to the shower for some odd and completely relevant reason, thinking back to the beginning of his dream last night. Stalling, he stepped back a bit, before shaking his head at his ridiculousness and walked into the bathroom.

Once he stepped inside and glanced around, -not looking into the sink bowl- he couldn't help but feel foolish. Scoffing, he placed his towel up on the towel rack and quietly closed the door behind him. He quickly went to go and heat up the water for his shower.

When he deemed it warm enough, he quickly immersed himself in the heated vapor and soothing 'massage' setting the showerhead was always on. Letting the heat do away with his sore muscles, he let his mind wander back to his earlier troubles.

The boy with blond hair was a reoccurring character in his dreams, but the dreams had always been attached to or originated from a memory. The boy's face was always visible and the smiles were never warped.

He felt tired and the shower was no longer doing him any good as his thoughts began to way heavy on his body. He knew better than to think about that boy, but he just didn't have the strength to let the thought go.

No matter how painful the memories turned.

* * *

><p><em>For some reason, it was hard to look at him. <em>

_Those big, bright, and blue eyes were inescapable. His voice, a soft, gentle and pleasant tone to listen to compared to his usual loud, brass and callous one. He only ever used these tactics on him when things were bad._

_But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what was bothering his friend so much as of late._

_The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip when he tried to free himself from it. He sighed, wanting to get rid of the boy, but not quite sure how to do so without being a complete asshole about it._

"_So, do you think you can come over and we can hang out? You've been so busy and you won't even tell me what schools you applied to. Kyu wants me to go to the same school that he's at, but I don't even want to take the test unless I know you're gonna apply there, too."_

_A raw and familiar scorching heat started to settle in his chest as the unmentionable red-head was brought up into their conversation. Wanting nothing to do with him or Naruto at the moment, he aimed his harshest glare at his disposal and turned it to the blond idiot that never could take a hint, "Look, Naruto, I've really got to get home. I don't think I'll be able to hang out tonight."_

"_But Sasuke-"_

"_God! Why don't you get it? Just _leave me alone, alright_!"_

_Those blue eyes widened at his shout, but immediately narrowed as their owner returned the shout with his own, "You know what? Fine, god, sorry if my trying to be your friend annoys you so much." _

_He visibly deflated a bit before whispering, "I just wanted to hang out with my brother..."_

_From the distance, someone called out Naruto's name. _

_Sasuke noticed those blue eyes widen ever-so-slightly and he looked scared for a moment, but that thought was immediately discarded as everyone and their mother knew that Naruto was afraid of nothing. Sasuke was just tired after a long week of school and homework and several martial arts classes he had recently started taking._

_The voice from a distance did the trick- Naruto took a step back, away from Sasuke, and started walking in the opposite direction. With his back turned, his shoulders hunched and his hands shoved deep into his ripped jean pockets; he looked defeated. It unnerved Sasuke. _

"_Hey, wait!"_

_He caught up to the blond and without pause said, "I applied to Kishi, Oto, and the one Sarutobi said I should go to, though I forgot the name of it… And a bunch of others, but I don't care about those."_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, before replying, "You applied to Oto? Dude, why?"_

_He only shrugged before saying, "You can say what you want about the pieces of shit that walk around that campus, but you can't argue with their system of education over there. They learn something and it _stays_ in their head."_

_Although he was never the type to apologize, he had the decency to feel embarrassed by his earlier outburst, "Listen, about earlier," He took a breath before continuing, "I've just been really busy and stressed out. Things have been really weird around the house and with all the martial art classes I'm taking- I'm really strapped for time…"_

_Not knowing how else to end his pathetic rambling, he could only lamely finish with, "Maybe some other day?"_

_Naruto only nodded his head before smiling at him and began to say something, only Sasuke couldn't make out what he was saying because his brain had stopped working at that precise moment._

_It wasn't fair that something simple, such as that smile, could disarm him so truly._

* * *

><p>He should have listened.<p>

He shouldn't have doubted himself in that moment that he thought he saw something wrong in Naruto's eyes. All he had to do was ask the blond what was wrong- Naruto would have told him.

Naruto never hid anything from Sasuke, he was always kind and understanding. Why did he have to be such an idiot? The signs were all around him, but he was young and foolish and he didn't want to admit to himself that things had been getting a little out of hand between them.

That had been the first lesson Curiosity had tried to teach him- and he had failed.

He had failed in every sense of the word.

Wanting to get away from his guilt, he snapped out of his thoughts and reached for the shampoo. His shaky hand was his only indication before he gave a quiet shout when he realized that the water had dropped to a less favorable temperature.

No longer feeling up for the shower he turned off the water and got out. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he hurried out of the bathroom and into the, thankfully, empty hall. Not wanting to chance being seen naked by one of the cleaning ladies, he ran to his room and locked the door once he was sure he was alone inside his room.

Thoughts of Naruto and his failure still running through his mind, he leaned heavily against the door and felt himself deflate a little. Shortly after their talk that day, Sasuke was still too busy and hadn't been able to hang out with Naruto as he had promised.

A week soon turned into a month and then three months went by before Sasuke took notice of the distance that was growing between them. Sure, they saw each other while in school and during school tournaments, but it wasn't the same.

And then it was too late

Things spiraled so fast and out of control... He shook his head back and forth, trying his best to dispel the thoughts that were running afoul through his mind. Between last night's dream and these thoughts, he was really screwing himself over.

Sure the past is not something to cling to, especially when it was preventing him from moving forward, but that's how you learn, right? You always learn more from your mistakes than your successes? Or was it the other way around?

"Screw it." He breathed out as he headed over to his closet to pick out something comfortable to wear for the day.

And he left it at that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Inspirational songs for this: everything & anything by Breaking Benjamin, "Settle Down" (i was just as shocked) & "Chameo Lover" by Kimbra**

**Thanks for reading! And a personal THANK YOU! to ADeadBlackRose, Sainly-Sad, and P! Your reviews helped me get over the hurtles! **


	5. On the Move

**Read, review (please! & thank you!) and repeat.**_  
><em>

** Sorry for any grammer mistakes, I try to catch them all, but I am only human! This spring break I plan on going over and editing all of the chapters, I swear I'll have these faux pas fixed!**

**Also, if you want to recommend music- I will gladly go and look it up! I'm always in search of musical inspiration.**

* * *

><p><em>Ibiki-sensei was the single most evil english and math teacher that had ever walked the halls of their elementary school. Tales of his brutal and harsh (but effective if you survived) teaching techniques were never to be taken lightly. <em>So it made sense that some of these 'Ibiki' tales were spread by students and parents, but the scarier tales were almost always told by the teachers and administrators of his school. <em>The number one way a teacher could get their class to settle down was by merely mentioning Ibiki-sensei's name._

_Not only did Ibiki-sensei's teaching techniques destroy some of the teachers, administrators, and parents (some of them are still in rehab or have gone off to get counseling or are on permanent leave) of his school, but his appearance downright terrified the kids._

_Some of them couldn't even walk past his room without breaking into a sweat or are shaking so bad that they can't get past the area because their legs just wouldn't cooperate (his third grade homeroom teacher would often break out into hives). It was kind of pathetic, if it wasn't for the fact that Ibiki-sensei's appearance was, in fact, downright terrifying._

_The man was as tall as a swing set, had long, thick and painful-looking scars riddling his face, eyes that were so keen and sharp- it was impossible to hide a single stick of gum anywhere in his room, and he always wore a bandana to cover his balding head. Though, to be honest, with how tightly that bandana stuck to his head, you could only focus on the fact that a head _should not be that bumpy.

_If you looked directly at his head, it looked fine, but if your eyes veered over to see the sides of his head, all that was visible were these little dips and awkward (painful) curves. It wasn't a sight for a child's eyes, but a sight better suited for a war veteran…_

…_If the war veteran had lived through at least three different kinds of wars._

_Even with all the information given, all the tales of his 'bright room' sessions, the exhausting amount of homework he gave, and the blood-shot hours of studying it required to actually pass his final exams- Sasuke still would not have thought much of the man._

_If you asked Sasuke personally, before he had been assigned the man as a fifth grade homeroom guardian, what he thought of this 'Ibiki-sensei' all you would have gotten was a shrug and a "Whatever." from the boy._

_Now, however, Sasuke was having second thoughts._

_Sitting at the very front of the room with his brief(duffle bag)case looking close to bursting and books neatly stacked up to the ceiling was the man, the myth, the nightmare, the hopes, and imaginations of the entire school._

_Ibiki-sensei wasn't smiling, like most teachers would be on the very first day back to school, but instead, looking intently at a single sheet of paper. Occasionally, Ibiki-sensei would flip the sheet over, mark something with his black pen, and then flip it over again._

_Finally, after 10 minutes of the tense and unbearable silence, Ibiki-sensei lifted his head and released a deep breath._

"_I do not tolerate idiots. I dislike children. I am not kind or considerate. And yet, here you brats sit before me."_

_At this, many of Sasuke's fellow classmates began melting into their seats. The ones sitting at the very front of the room visibly shaking, having nowhere to escape due to their perfect visibility to Ibiki-sensei's eyes and his, suddenly very overwhelming, tower of books that were looking more and more threatening with each passing second._

_Ibiki-sensei continued on, "My name is Ibiki, and you will address me as 'Ibiki-sensei.' When I am talking to you, your eyes are on me and me alone. If I suspect that your attention is somewhere else and not on me when I ask for it, I can assure you, I do a very good job of directing your attention back to me. Do not make me do such a thing."_

_Ibiki-sensei got up from his desk and walked around to the front of it, effectively getting closer to the students who were unfortunate enough to get the front desks, leaning against the desk gently. He folded his arms slowly and let out another deep breath before continuing on._

"_I know that some of you think you've got life figured out. Think that life can't throw anything your way that you can't handle, or haven't handled already. And before any of you start nodding off, no, this isn't a little monologue that I shoot off just for the sake of wasting time."_

_Ibiki-sensei got off his desk and starting walking around the entire room, taking slow and heavy steps around the classroom. He folded his arms behind his back and continued on with his speech, "I don't believe in wasting time and neither will you by the end of this year."At this, a very disturbing smile etched (because there's no way a smile on Ibiki-sensei could _ever_ be natural) its way onto his face._

_The class as a whole, himself included, took an audible gulp._

"_I keep a very strict and very exact schedule, so if any of you brats give me any kind of trouble or can't keep up to this schedule, I will not hesitate in putting you back in the first grade. If you cannot handle my curriculum, I can assure you, you will never be able to handle anything outside of the four walls of your bedroom."_

"_This is my first warning to all of you: Gum is absolutely, completely and one hundred percent, illegal in my classroom. Candy is also absolutely illegal in my classroom-The only rewards you will receive from me are getting out of my sight."_

_Again, an audible gulp was heard._

_Ibiki was still walking around the classroom, making a kind of kids-ducking-their-heads-ever-so-slightly-as-he-approaches-and-then-popping-their-heads-back-up-when-his-back-was-turned trail wherever he walked. If Ibiki-sensei was annoyed or amused, it was hard to tell._

"_I do not consider this the first day of school, I've had to lower my normal procedures to better suit your young minds. More-so, I consider this day the day Life says, 'Hello.' to you. Today is the day you will walk out those school gates and take a slow walk home- entertain yourselves with the smells in the air, enjoy the sights of the sky, love the feel of the breeze, and more importantly, tell your loved ones how much you love them."_

_Sasuke was finding it harder and harder to be able to listen to what Ibiki-sensei was saying. The sniffles were starting to get louder as more of his classmates were becoming overwhelmed and gave in to their desire to cry._

_Ibiki-sensei walked to the font of the room, standing tall and proud as he said, "Class, I do not care what you think of me, but by the end of the day, I can assure you, you will care about what _I_ think of _you_."_

_The bell rang, and never had Sasuke seen a classroom clear out as fast as his homeroom just cleared out._

_Sasuke refused to admit that he was one of the first kids to run out of that room._

* * *

><p><em>Sasuke had a total of five blocks (not counting the blocks that were for mandatory recess, lunch and studying) that were specifically reserved for one person and one person alone. This person was often the cause for most of his smiles, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and constant flutterings in his chest.<em>

_With the moon rising up above them and leaving them to fend in the dark, Sasuke could always count on this person to be his guiding light in the surrounding darkness. If things got too stupid or hard, his friend would always find a way to make it easier to flow with, instead of fight against, the realities that were surrounding and drowning his home._

_All he had to do was seek this person out and things would instantly get better._

_Literally._

_Absolutely no joke._

_This kid literally fixed all wrongs with just his presence alone. It really freaked Sasuke out sometimes. How Naruto always just knew when to walk into a room; knew exactly how to carry himself in order to settle everyone down; could ask all the right questions in all the right ways, and get the answer he was looking for; but hey, he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth._

_So what if his friend could walk in the middle of an argument between him and his father- and stop it with asking for ramen for dinner? He didn't care that his brother would finally take a break and hang out with him when the blond was around him- just that his brother was finally taking a breather and having fun with him._

_Sasuke didn't look too hard into these things. He just knew that when a problem arose, all Naruto had to do was be introduced to it and he would just instantly make the situation better with his presence alone._

_For all that his simple actions did to freak him out, they really also really helped in a pinch._

_He had his next block wide open for him to do anything his little heart desired and, right now, he really needed to talk to someone about his new predicament. After spending over 40 minutes with his new homeroom guardian, he knew who he was going to be spending that block with._

_Dealing with Ibiki-sensei for over 40 minutes was more time than he ever wanted to spend with the man. Ibiki-sensei was just as overwhelming as __everybody__ said he was. The tales had, so far, appeared to be true to their words- from the way he carried himself, to his mannerisms and his absolute authority over a classroom._

_The fact that Ibiki-sensei was his assigned homeroom guardian and Sasuke would be dealing with this man a total of three times a day… five days a week… for the rest of the school year… was enough to make him hide in his room and ask to be homeschooled. Why not change homeroom guardians? Because once the school administrators selected a student's homeroom guardian, there was, absolutely none, no persuading them to change their mind._

_Not even throwing millions at them would persuade them to change their mind. It's been tried before, so there was no hope that doing it again would change their mind_

_And although Sasuke would never say this out loud, not even under punishment, he was quiet troubled by this new obstacle in his life. If you were to ask Sasuke now, after personally meeting Ibiki-sensei, what he thought about his new sensei- he would not hesitate to say, "Whatever."_

_Though this time, if you pay close enough attention to his shoulders, you would notice an ever-so-slight tensing._

_Shaking his head quickly, successfully pushing his homeroom encounter off to the side, he quickened his pace, a small smile making its way onto his face. Excited over the prospect of seeing Naruto, he broke out into a run, in search of his elusive blonde haired, blue eyed friend._

* * *

><p>"<em>Damn it!" He cursed, but was quick to bite his lip lest he let out more swear words and risk getting yelled at for it.<em>

_After exhausting all of Naruto's usual hang outs, Sasuke was at a loss as to where else to look for his friend. He had searched the cafeteria, the library, all of the reserved-for-study rooms, the roof, and outside the school grounds, but they all failed to yield the boy._

_Glancing up at the clock, Sasuke held in another curse word- his first block was almost over, and he had yet to see Naruto. Picking up his pace and too busy looking everywhere but in front of him, he failed to spot the other boy in time to avoid the literal head on collision._

**Crack!**

"_Awww! Shhhhhmmm!" Sasuke pursed his lips, catching the curse word before it was heard properly and threw his hands up to his head, rubbing the spot that was throbbing and sending the most pain signals._

_The other boy had no such reservations for holding his tongue._

"_Aw!Shit!Goddamnit!Thathurt! Who the _fuck_ wasn't watching where the _fuck_ they were going?"_

_Sasuke was still holding his head, his eyes aimed towards the floor at his feet, too busy with rubbing the pain away, so he didn't notice the towering force that was making its way towards him._

_He wasn't prepared for the booming voice that soon invaded his ears and added to the pain he was currently feeling from the crash, "Dude!" it said, so close to his left ear he felt a little spit spittle land on it._

_Sasuke would have said sorry, but as soon as that spit landed in his ear there was no way he was going to be nice to someone who would be so rude. Indignant and disgusted, he shot up from his bent position and turned his eyes to the person who was being so difficult._

_They were probably some stupid eighth grader. He hated those assholes._

"_What?" He hissed, still in pain no thanks to the screech in his ear and the throbbing aches from his head. Eyes widening, he silenced all angry comebacks for a later time._

_This was a style that Sasuke had yet to see or understand._

_He had never seen such bright red hair; it had to be dyed or something. There was no way a mother would allow her son to color their hair with that shade of red. Or wear those kinds of clothes- was he a student here? If he was, how the hell did he get past the office wearing such ripped jeans and obnoxious band shirt?_

_The height also kind of threw him off, this boy stood a whole head taller than him, forcing Sasuke to tilt his head ever-so-slightly. He wasn't at all accustomed to the look this boy was sporting and just continued to stare (gawk) at the boy before him._

"_Are you okay?" This time the voice was much quieter and Sasuke could clearly see concern flashing in those honey colored eyes._

_Feeling bad for his initial negative assessment of the red head, Sasuke nodded his head and slowly pulled his hands away from his head. The red head took a step closer to him, opened his mouth, but then, kind of awkwardly, took a step back, rubbing his arms together._

"_Uhm, sorry 'bout that! Didn't mean to yell in your ear, but, uhm, yeah, you okay there?" The red head pointed to his own skull._

_Not quite getting it, he raised a single brow and asked, "You mean my head?"_

"_Mm! Yeah, I mean you're head. Does it still hurt? That hit really hurt, and I have a hard head, so when it hurts for me, it's usually agonizing for other people."_

_Sasuke swung his head from side to side, slowly because he didn't want to get dizzy and then faint in front of this person, to indicate that his head no longer hurt. In fact, after reaching back to delicately touch the spot; it was nothing but sore now._

_Realizing, with a start, that the boy was standing before him with an expectant look on his face, Sasuke said "I'm fine."_

"_That's good, wouldn't want to leave a bad impression on my first day here."_

_At this, a toothy grin appeared on the red head's face, his pearly white teeth almost too much for Sasuke to handle. Especially when compared to the crooked, slightly yellow baby teeth most of his classmates were still sporting, which _he was so accustomed_._

_Kyuubi held out his hand eagerly, "My name's Kyuubi! And you are?"_

"_Sughy!"_

_Opening his mouth to answer, Sasuke was only able to let out an unintelligible grunt as an unidentified object collided with his back._

_Thankfully the force wasn't heavy and it only managed to leave him wobbly. Sasuke was fast to hold his ground, no thanks to the surprise attacks Naruto was so well known for-! His heart sped up ever-so-slightly._

"_Sasuke!" A voice, one that he recognized and cherished, shouted from behind him._

_Arms encircled his waist and before he knew it, he was staring into the big blue eyes of his friend Naruto. The smile on his friend's face was so big, he wondered if it was hurting him. Similarly, the smile that he was sporting was kind of hurting._

_Not even stopping to consider the fact that they weren't alone, Sasuke enveloped Naruto into his arms and allowed himself to enjoy the contact that was being administered through this hug. Although he had hung out with Naruto just yesterday, it felt like a lifetime._

"_Naruto."_

_Laughter was his response and he only tightened his hold onto Naruto. Warmth that spread from his toes to the tips of his ears, joy that only caused his smile to become toothy, and a strong shot of adrenaline that ran threw his veins were only a few of the things that Sasuke was feeling at seeing his Naruto here beside him._

_Nobody else could create these feelings within him, not his brother, not father and not even his mother._

_He wondered if this was weird at all… And then promptly decided that such a good thing couldn't be bad, he let these thoughts slide and refocused on the matter at hand._

_Sasuke pulled away from Naruto to get a good look at him. For some reason, something seemed off, but he couldn't quiet put a finger on what made him think so. The blond hair seemed was still unruly, height was short as all hell (even for their age group), and his clothes-_

"_You're not wearing orange." Sasuke stated, relief (because colors that bright were the cause for his constant, but brief 'blind moments') and disbelief (because Naruto wasn't Naruto unless he was wearing some kind of offensive and bright color) threading through his words._

_Crossing his arms and pouting, Naruto grumbled out, "Mizuki threw them all out."_

_Even further confused, Sasuke asked, "What do you mean 'all out'?"_

"_I mean, he threw out _all_ of my favorite clothes! My baggy blue hoodie, my neon green shirt, all of my orange colored clothes, including my bright orange backpack! I think he threw out all of my socks too, I could only find these plain and boring white ones."_

"_What?" Sasuke could only arched an eyebrow to emphasis the zero-sense in this._

"_I know! Yeah, he said some'in 'bout 'looking presentable' and some'in else like that. Dude, this sucks! How can you stand to wear these kinds of colors?" Naruto gestured to the clothes he was wearing._

_It didn't look bad on him- just odd and out of place. A simple black t-shirt with thick white stitching that fit snugly on Naruto and really made his hair stand out. For pants, loose dark navy, almost black, jeans that also had thick white stitching. The shoes were what threw Sasuke off the most, though._

_They were the kind of shoes his mother made him and Itachi wear to some kind of fancy family event. And they were white._

_Mizuki must have lost his mind; those shoes on Naruto weren't going to last a day._

"_Wow." he let out quietly after inspecting his friend, "Why do you think Mizuki did that? And did you pick out these clothes?"_

_Naruto shook his head negative, indicating that he neither picked out these clothes, nor did he know why Mizuki did what he did._

_He threw up his arms exasperatedly and groaned out, "No! And I have no idea when Mizuki went clothes shopping without me! He just woke me up super early and threw these on my before I even had the chance to ask what the heck was going on. Dude!"_

_Naruto grabbed his shoulders and gave him a good shake, "Mizuki woke me up _early!_ And I got here _on time_!" He told him urgently, his eyes wide and eyebrows shot up to his hairline._

_Prying himself away from Naruto's hands, Sasuke could only give him a credulous look. Early? On time? What? That wasn't like Mizuki- that wasn't like Mizuki at all._

_As if reading his mind, Naruto replied, "I don't know, but it's weird, dude"_

_Something gently poked his shoulder and Sasuke gasped, just remembering that they weren't alone. They (Sasuke) had been so caught up in seeing each other again, he had forgotten all about Kyuubi. He felt like a jerk for doing so._

_Turning to face the red head, Sasuke proceeded to make the biggest mistake of his life._

"_Kyuubi, this is Naruto." Sasuke pointed to his blond friend who proceeded to wave excitedly at the red head._

"_Hi!" Naruto shouted sweetly._

"_Hello." Kyuubi said more softly._

_An apologetic smile made its way onto Sasuke's face, "Sorry for ignoring you."_

_A vulpine smile graced his face, "No problem, I kind of had a feeling you guys were having a moment. You look like good friends."_

_Naruto nodded his head vigorously at this, "Mhm! Sasuke and me have been friends since we were in second grade- everyone thought we'd have killed each other by now." A cheeky grin at the end of his rant solidified the silliness of such a preposterous event ever happening between them._

* * *

><p>Would it have mattered? Sasuke didn't believe in fate or destiny, but he got the sense that; No, it would not have mattered whether he had introduced Naruto to Kyuubi at the time that he did. They would have met each other at some point in this life with or without his help. Sasuke just reduced the amount of time it might have taken them to meet. Sasuke was just destiny's delivery boy.<p>

Destiny?

More like Miseries delivery boy.

At first, things were good and fun between all three of them, but little things started popping up. He ignored the little things, because Naruto was ignoring them as well and if Naruto wasn't bothered by them, then why should he?

But then the little things turned into big things and then not even Naruto could fix them with his presence. Ha, in fact, he often, with no intention of doing so, made things worse by stepping into the picture. Sometimes it was Kyuubi's fault and sometimes it was Sasuke's fault- but neither would apologize and that just escalated things.

_Fuck_, he hated thinking about these things. Ever since his dreams last night, all his mind wanted to do was screw him over in as many ways as possible. Sasuke could stomach a lot of things, but there was a limit of how much of the thing he could stomach.

Memories of Naruto and their many exploits ran rampant through his head. A good chunk of them were pleasant and joyful- but the more recent memories were cracked and foul and wrong.

Wrong because things weren't suppose to end like that, weren't suppose to make Naruto sad or scared. Sasuke wanted more time with Naruto- time that wasn't being wasted on arguments or other stupid things like Kyuubi, school and his clans interference. The memories left a him feeling foul and nauseous, he would sometimes become physically ill from such strong emotions attacking his psyche.

Usually, Sasuke as pretty good at avoiding the Naruto plague. There were plenty of things that took up his time and effort; he wasn't one to keep still. Things like family reunions, tournaments, school events and festivals kept him pretty preoccupied and busy. As if these weren't enough, he also had to deal with school work, his 'job' and his clan's special forces training on top of his plate.

But it was summer break and his clan was on a mandatory vacation for the next week. He was left without a wall to protect himself against the force that was his friend, Naruto. There was nothing he could hide behind; he was just going to have to deal with it.

He really envied the other kids and their simple lives.

Other kids his age only had to worry about acne, grades, spending money, and keeping out of trouble. Sasuke was dealt a different set of troubles; he had to worry about keeping up with his clan, staying ahead of the enemy, deal with his family and all of their unresolved problems, and he had to stay alive long enough to see his 18th birthday.

To be honest though, he wouldn't trade places with them- from what he heard, acne was a bitch.

After changing into some more comfortable clothes, he felt the need to go and do something that would help take his mind off of Naruto. His dreams from earlier had already done enough damage to his psyche, he didn't need the guilt trip as well. He looked around his room, trying to find _anything_ that would help him with this simple request.

Wasn't it enough that he plagued himself with the thought of never being able to apologize for his actions? That he has to live with the knowledge that he could have done something, but chose to do _nothing_. No amount of medication, therapy, or otherwise, had been able to lessen his load- so he had been forced to bear this weight on his shoulders.

Why is it that he can predict his enemy's movement, has access to his clan's weaponry, Intel and money, yet could not have been any less prepared? Why is it that he had all of these tools at his disposal, yet could not grasp them when he needed them most?

Sasuke didn't know why, he just knew that when things took a turn for the worse, he had failed his friend Naruto. And in a way, he was still failing the blond idiot.

Couldn't his brain take a hint? He was already killing himself softly with the "what if"s that liked to pounce him when he was least ready.

**WHAM!**

The rage, confusion, and insecurities that were crawling through him were inescapable. Ever since Naruto's disappearance, he lived in doubt: in doubt of his family, the force, and himself.

It was unbearable.

Not being able to trust the man who he had always believed had the best interests for everyone, especially his family and friends. Not wanting to go home because the brother he'd always loved was no longer living in the house he once knew as home. Not sure whether the side he was on actually knew what they were doing- and if they did, then he wasn't sure he wanted to be on their side.

Things were already getting stretched in his clan, but now, something was happening all around them and nobody knew what or how it all connected. His elders were constantly shutting themselves in a small room, desperately trying to put the pieces together.

But they always came up with a blank picture or a mess of puzzle pieces.

This of course frustrated the elders, and they took it out on whoever they could find. His clan did not like feeling incompetent, so they worked everyone to the bone- not even the woman were spared the harsh work schedule that was being implemented next week.

The elders were being stupid, though, and were ignoring some things that made Sasuke's blood run cold. Things like: the number of missing people going up and the piles of severed body limbs that were just left rotting in the sewers- and how none of these body parts were of the people gone missing.

These were reports that were coming from the Hyuuga clan, who was situated in the country of Earth, and the Nara clan, who was situated in the country of Lightening. His elders were so focused on what was going on in their country of Fire that they were failing to go all around the picture and see what was happening everywhere else.

Every time Sasuke tried to bring these issues to light, his father would just tell him to keep to himself and that the elders were already dealing with enough as it was. Did Sasuke mention that his father was the elder's bitch?

**WHAM! **

**~Crack~**

**THUD!**

It didn't help that Sasuke had to deal with mind numbing aches and migraines that only seemed to be lasting longer and getting more painful. His parents had already taken him to see several doctors, taken all the meds that were suppose to make things better, and had even forced him to see a therapist.

At first they all thought it had something to do with his body, but when Sasuke had gone to see the therapist, she knew immediately that it had something to do with his Naruto plague problem.

She had told him several times, "_Thinking about it is only going to make things harder. Just stop.", "Let go and move on._", "_You want to get better, right? Then just take these meds._" But this wasn't something that could be cured with a sugar pill or ignorance; he had told her time and time again.

This was real and this was painful in ways that he wished he could stop feeling.

It was a needle that had dug its way beneath his nails. It was a dull blade that was carving its way through his chest and into his heart. The doubt was painful and crushing, it never ceased its pulse and it only increased in topic and depth.

He didn't want to think about these things anymore. He just wanted to move on, do things that would make his mother proud, graduate high school as valedictorian, and not have to deal with the things he currently had to deal with. The seniors in his family were already looking and treating him like he was next in line for the position _that his father was still waiting in line for_! It was really grating on his nerves, he just didn't want to deal with it.

Was that too much to ask?

By the time Sasuke was done mentally ranting, his fist had gone through the wall in his bedroom. When he pulled his arm back, he could see out into the hallway and someone was shouting, but he didn't care. He was no closer to solving his problems than he was when they first started almost two years ago.

And this frustrated and angered him just as much as that _damned Kyuubi_ did.

Sasuke thought there was some more shouting before a swift knocking was heard from his bedroom door and, "Goddamnit! Sasuke! What is wrong with you?" was screeched.

Stepping away from the hole, Sasuke made it over to his door and calmly opened it, "Yes." Was his totally calm and cool response to the entire situation.

It's not like he had meant to make a hole in the wall.

At his door stood one of the cleaners, their face puffered up and red, eyes bulging and anxiously flexing his hands. It was quiet comical, but Sasuke knew that now was not the time to laugh at the man. He did function as a nanny, chef and cleaner, so although their statuses weren't the same, that didn't mean he couldn't be shown some respect.

Iruka did prepare his meal sometimes.

"Sasuke! Why did you do that? Are you okay?"

Why did he do that?

Was he okay?

"Everything's fine, just tripped. I'm sorry; you can fix that sort of thing, though, right?"

A poker face was all the man, Iruka, wore.

"Fix. Ri~ght... I can do that…"

Since Sasuke didn't want to deal with the hole in his room, thus eliminating privacy, he decided it would be a good idea to go and be productive. Work out some of the energy that was his mind going haywire with thoughts of Naruto and other such problems.

"Mhm, you go do that. I'm going downstairs to the gym; come and get me when my father comes back."

Iruka just nodded his head and went back to doing whatever it was he was doing before Sasuke had exploded and ruined the wall.

* * *

><p>The basement was the perfect placement for the gym room, no one other than his family was allowed downstairs to this little sanctuary of theirs. The room was nicely lit, but not overbearing, and it lacked any windows of opportunity that a peeping tom might be tempted with.<p>

Although the air vents and perfectly insulated walls of his home did a good job of preventing the hot and humid temperatures outside from entering, it still wasn't enough to keep the beads of sweat from running down his back. He was done with all of the harder poses, just taking a breather and relaxing in the Tāḍāsana position in the gym room.

He was becoming restless with just waiting for his father, so he settled for something that would help him sort things out in his mind. Taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and felt his mind quiet down.

It worked for a little bit, his mind only settled down for a little bit. However, he could still see images of Naruto and himself when they were younger- all of the pranks, the moments when Mizuki or his parents got mad at them, his mind even played scenes from when they would just sit around and do nothing.

Growling, he back flipped away from the grey yoga mat and started walking towards the treadmill, hoping that some _mindless_ (Get the hint already, goddamnit!) running would help him settle down some more.

It had been nearly two years since he had last seen or heard anything about that boy. During all that time, thoughts of Naruto had never been as prevalent or as persistent as this. They were all fleeting or gone just as soon as they'd arrived.

Sometimes, memories of Naruto dominated his dreams- but they were quick things that he forgot once he woke up. It made him feel guilty, when he realized just how little he actually, willfully, thought of his once-best-friend, but he just pushed that thought, too, out of his mind.

There were other things that needed his time and effort.

Grabbing the sneakers that he had placed just a foot away from the yoga mat, he put them on hurriedly before setting the treadmill to the fastest mode he could manage. Jumping a little bit, to get his blood flowing again, he got on the ridiculously priced treadmill with impatience. He let his legs do all of the work while his arms began their senseless back and forth movements.

He was able to think of nothing for quite some time and he was thankful for the small blessing. The only things that were crossing his mind were the lungful of breaths he was taking, the muscles moving in both his legs and arms, and the sweat running down his face.

It looked like he was successful in his attempt to escape thoughts of the blond.

Another five minutes passed before his mind decided to be a bitch.

Sighing mentally, he could only close his eyes and let these thoughts take over. As much as he wanted to, experience taught him that avoiding things only lead to a much harder and more strenuous path to the final destination.

That didn't mean he always wanted to learn things this soon; sometimes, it was a good thing to take your time and cherish your innocence while you still had it… Except Sasuke lost his innocence quite some time ago; so there was absolutely no point for Sasuke to keep avoiding Curiosities reach or advice.

Before he could let out an angry shout, he heard a chorus of "Good afternoon!"s coming from above him. _Finally,_ he shut off the machine and went to get off, the sound of soft footsteps coming from the stairs leading up to the ground level of his house alerted him to the presence of Iruka.

"Sasuke, your father has arrived."

"I heard. I'm heading upstairs right now."

Iruka nodded his head and went back upstairs, leaving Sasuke to do as he pleased. For a moment, he was unsure of what exactly, or how exactly, he was going to bring up the dream to his father. It had been a powerful dream- so much so, that it felt like a vision that was presented to him from the Third Universe.

If it was, then Sasuke needed to speak to the elders.

And he would not be ignored.

Gathering himself, Sasuke ran up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. In more ways than one, he was anxious to see his father- he didn't like seeing him work to the bone, but it was something that couldn't be helped. As next in line to take charge of the clan, there was very little that Sasuke could do to lessen his father's load.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Sasuke's eyes sought out the man of the house, his father. The room had cleared out, but there, leaning on the doorframe with his back to him, stood his father. Sasuke couldn't see his father's face, but the fact that the man who always told him to stand straight was _leaning_ against something, spoke volumes to the fatigue the man must be dealing with.

Walking up to him, Sasuke placed his hand gently upon his father's shoulder, "Father," he said quietly, wanting to get his father's attention, but not wanting to disturb him in case he was in the middle of something.

Fugaku turned to face him, his brows slightly furrowed and his lips set into a firm line,"Yes, Sasuke?"

Hesitating for just a moment, it was more than enough to get his father to stand up straighter and face him fully, "Just give me a second, I need to finish a report and then we can discuss whatever is on your mind."

_I thought we were all on vacation?_ was what Sasuke wanted to ask, but he knew better than to question it. When the elders wanted something from his father, not even the gods could prevent him from completing the task.

Nodding his head, Sasuke turned and went to run for a little bit longer. He knew his father would keep his promise; he just had to be patient.

* * *

><p>It was precisely two hours before his father came upstairs to his room. Upon walking into his room, his father gave him a strange look. It was the kind of look all parents gave their children when they thought something was off, but the child was doing a splendid job of ignoring their entire environment. Fugaku remained standing just a few feet away from his bed, perfectly collected and cool; also okay with ignoring the environment for now.<p>

It was probably because of the white spot on the wall that was a different texture as the rest of the walls in his room. Iruka will get that fixed at some point, just not today, he had been promised.

Not even wanting to bother with a preamble, Sasuke let it out, "Father, I had a peculiar dream last night."

Sasuke had been in the middle of reading and was situated on his bed, laying down on his stomach, but his posture was one that suggested his reading material had been everything except pleasant. Which was true, in the past two hours that he was waiting for his father, he had decided to go and do some research about what he had experienced last night.

What he found only served to confuse him further, the only source he could count on would be his father… But if his father told him the same thing the Book of the Worlds was telling him, then he was in for a long 'talk' with his father.

Fugaku raised a single brow, "Peculiar? Define that for me."

Sasuke furrowed his brow, thinking back to how he awoke this morning, "Do you want me to describe the dream, or what made it peculiar?"

Walking closer to him, his father took a sit next to him, "Tell me the dream and what made it peculiar for you."

"I was in a forest and was witnessing an explosion. Shortly after that I saw Nagato herding some cars away from the building that was, I believe, hidden in the dense forest. When I tried to fight him, the world around me turned dark, Nagato was gone, and everything was collapsing. The only thing left was a bright building, the one that I believe had exploded, and as I was walking to open its front door,"

He hesitated, not exactly wanting to talk about Naruto, but having no choice or else his father would not be able to properly decipher the dream. The boy had been what made this dream peculiar, "I don't know why, but I turned around to get one last look behind me. I saw Naruto, but I couldn't see his eyes, his bangs were covering up most of his face- but he was wearing a warped smile."

"Father," he wanted his father to make no mistake about this fact, "I've always been able to see Naruto's face clearly, even when I didn't want to. In all the dreams that I've had of him, he's never worn a warped smile- I think the Third Universe was trying to tell me something."

His father was still and quiet for a moment, taking in all of what he just said, then he asked, "Did you just give me the basics of your dream?"

Sasuke nodded his head, "Yes; do you want me to give you more details?"

Throughout Sasuke's talking, Fugaku's hands balled up and his shoulders were hunching, his forehead was wrinkled and he could tell something was bothering his father. Fugaku nodded his head to indicate that he go on; so Sasuke did.

Some of the details of the dream were starting to get fuzzy, but once he reached out for them he was able to relay them back to his father. Closing his eyes to better focus on the dream, he told his father about waking up with something dead in his mouth and running to the guest bathroom in nothing but his boxers and necklace. Fugaku just stared straight ahead, letting the details speak for themselves.

Then he told his father about hearing forest sounds and how bright it was outside, explaining to him that it was an explosion that he was witnessing backwards. Explaining the, what he believed, before events as to that explosion, he noticed his father tensing ever-so.

"Describe these men."

With a blush, he admitted, "Although some of them acted immaturely, they could take me down with one push."

His father _hummed_ his response, but gestured that he continue with his dream. So he told him about the encounter with Nagato and his rage filled state of mind and body- and about how he was taken down by an unknown force.

This piqued his father's interest immediately, "Did you see anything? Did it feel human or was it just the wind that brought you down?"

Not appreciating his father's sense of humor, he replied tersely, "It was a weight and it was trying to tell me something, but I was so filled with rage that I couldn't make out what was being said to me. Its breath was foul and that didn't help any either."

No more questions were asked by his father and by the time he was done retelling his dream, his father was had fully faced away from him and was carrying a fogged expression. Understanding that his father was just trying to sort through his dream, he left his father to his thoughts.

As future head of the clan, Fugaku was more than well prepared to interpret his dream. His father was a scholar of all 'Book of the Worlds', master of over 30 different talents, and was responsible for over a thousand artifacts. It was only a matter of time before he could tell Sasuke what he saw in his dream.

"Son," he began, "you were right to come and talk to me about this. What you saw was not a dream, but a vision presented to you by the Third Universe. You saw something in your dream that was both a past event, which I will tell you where that event took place in a minute, and a hint into what the Third Universe wants you to prevent."

Turning back to face him, his father continued, "You said 'you fell' in your dream and awoke with a sore body, correct?" Sasuke nodded his head.

"Show me your back." His father ordered, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers.

Although the request was quite odd, he did as he was told. Sitting up from his laid position, he faced away from his father and took off his shirt, presenting his back to his father. A tense silence was Sasuke's only indication that something was wrong.

"The Third Universe even left you with a mark, Sasuke. Your back is completely black and blue with bruises. I'm surprised you're able to do anything right now." Two fingers pressed gently against the sides of his neck and a chill spread throughout his entire backside. Aches instantly made themselves known from areas he was not expecting.

Resisting the urge to lay down and sleep these pains away, Sasuke stayed seated upright. He could feel the bruises, but so long as he kept his back straight, he could deal with them. Yes, the bruises were being difficult, but he had been given worse treatment from the Third Universe.

For now, he was comfortable with facing away from his father and not putting on his shirt again- he just didn't feel like moving his arms and that was the only reason why he wasn't putting on his shirt.

"I'll have Sakura come by and see to your injuries and I know you don't like being treated for something as simple as a bruise; I need to know if that's all the Third Universe left you with. I'll also send in Ibiki-san to take a close look into your psyche."

_I should have just kept my trap shut!_ "Um, Father-"

"Ibiki-san knows what he's doing, for the most part, so you need not worry about him. Also, as soon as your back is in good shape and I know that you're 'okay,' I'll take you to the place the Third Universe was foretelling you."

Sasuke was still facing away from his father so he was not able to get a look at his father's face, but he could tell that from the strain in his voice that his father was slightly perturbed by the vision. He turned around to face his father, ignoring the little stiffness he was feeling at the base of his neck.

"What does it mean?"

His father gave a small huff and his shoulders visibly straightened. It was a warm look in his eyes that let Sasuke know that his father was not lying to him when he said, "I see you've already opened the Book, but do not fret." at this, Fugaku held up his hands, palms up, to show that he was not lying.

"What you read in there is not the only way to interpret this vision. One thing you must always remember about the books and visions, Sasuke, is that they can all be interpreted in many ways. Although there is only one correct interpretation of a vision, it takes many trails and errors before we are able to see the correct interpretation of it."

That was the only problem with the Books and visions from the other Universes; the different philosophies and opinions of several thousands of other people. It didn't help that the Books were constantly being updated or corrected, often leaving many people uniformed or misinformed about several topics that concerned visions.

Predicting the future was a bitch and visions just pissed him off sometimes.

"On my way to come back home from the Land of Lightening, I was told by the elders to go and personally investigate a disturbance they felt in the forests of Konoha. When I got to the area, all that was left was an aftermath of police officers and firefighters who were still fighting the fire or directing traffic. Unfortunately, something was blocking the flow of the entire forest area, preventing me from seeing into what had taken place there."

"I have a feeling that you will not experience such a problem- That is why _we_ are both going back to investigate the area. I want you to tell me exactly where everyone was and what the building looked like. You might even be able to pick up some signals as to where these people went off to. We might be able to better interpret your vision once there. For now just rest, I'll have someone bring you your dinner."

Taking Sasuke's silence as an affirmative to the instructions, Fugaku got up from his seated position and walked towards the door. Nothing else was exchanged between them, both going over the amount of information that had just been released. It was a lot to digest and both would need time to fully understand the events taking place.

Sasuke's mind was finally quiet; the Naruto plague was over for now.


	6. The Pressure's Hard To Take

**A/N: I was listening to Florence + the Machine, "Never Let Me Go" and David Guetta, "Titanium." No, you don't need to listen to these songs while reading this fic, I just like letting people know what songs inspired me while writing chapters. **

**Also, I have decided to wait until after my finals to go over and edit these chapters with my beta, Chibi Orochi-kun. I didn't want you guys to think that I have given up on this fic, I've just been really busy with school and finals are coming up... So before finals kill me and take my soul, I thought I'd just leave you with this chapter. Enjoy! **

**Ignore any grammatical errors, I didn't give my beta any time to actually look this fic over XDDDD **

**Forgive me Chibi! OTL**

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><p>If she were to be honest with herself, Tenten was pretty good at keeping her cool. She was always on time, had everything prepared before setting off to her next endeavor, and she liked to keep things neat and orderly. In short, Tenten was the perfect (worst) secretary for a man like Gai.<p>

Whenever he wanted to run off, she made sure he had completed all of his paperwork before letting him put on his running shoes. If Gai even hinted at ditching, Tenten would hound him and make sure he did no such thing. For the most part, Gai was a pretty good, hard working and decent man, so they got along just fine.

Which was why, for the past few weeks, she was more than thrown off by the jittery and anxious air that was hanging around his figure so heavily. It's not like he had missed any deadlines, she had double checked his work calendar. Nor had there been any recent stresses or difficulties in his family, she had contacted all of them and none of them had been able to figure out why Gai was so down. When she directly asked him, his solemn response only served to reassure her that something was wrong, but that was all his response did for her.

When those first five days of jitteriness had passed and Gai had still refused to tell her what was going on, she resorted to stalking him. She observed him carefully as he ate, exercised, and behaved normally, but there was still that terrible atmosphere around him that refused to let up.

It took her a full week before she realized he was taking longer than usual walks (runs) and that he wasn't finishing everything on his plate. Some days, he didn't even _touch _his protein shake.

When she did manage to corner him, something always conveniently interrupted them and then Gai would be gone for hours at a time- "urgent meetings that he had forgotten to tell her about" he would say.

Right... Because she was a screw-up of a secretary and sometimes forgot deadlines and other important things such as 'meetings'... Uh-huh.

As the events before her began to spiral and create a bigger picture, it all made sense now, the reason for his strange behavior. What was causing his uneasiness, when it would climax, where things would take a turn for the worse; how everything was going to go down. All that was left to answer was: Who? And why?

All of these thoughts spread out and ran through her mind as Gai finished mouthing off to the poor police officer that was on the other end of the phone.

Tenten wanted to remind Gai of his manners; tell him to calm down and go to his office while she took care of the police officer. Something told her to take charge and do something more productive than just sitting tied up to this stupid chair.

A very small part of her wondered why she wasn't more alarmed by her current situation. Her hands were tied behind her, she was by herself in a very isolated part of the very large Konoha forest, and her mouth had been duct taped shut. She didn't know what was going through Gai's mind, but if he had the gall to do this to her, what else was he prepared to do?

Nothing.

Absolutely. Nothing.

Why? Because the duct tape was hanging onto just one side of her cheek, allowing her to scream for help to the officer who was on the phone earlier. The rope around her hands was loose enough that she could slip her hands out and make a run for it if she really wanted to.

If she really wanted to, she could walk over to Gai and kick his ass. She could knock him down easily and take him out, leaving him docile enough to tie _him_up. And when that was done, she could radio for help and tell the police all of the other suspicious activities that Gai had been up to recently.

If she really wanted to... But she didn't.

Instead, she kept quiet and let Gai finish giving instructions out to the police officers on the other end of the phone. Maybe it had been the way Gai had approached her, or the polite way Gai had tied her up. It was probably because of the nervous expression on his face that made her sit so still and quiet.

Her thoughts came to a halt when she caught on to the tense silence that had engulfed the room. A quiet Gai was worse than a hyperactive one.

"Tenten."

She didn't like the sound of that.

Gai was still seated at this desk, the phone perched on its dock, papers all in a disarray and neon colored gel pens neatly put away in their cup. Everything looked the same as it had always been...

If only his shoulders weren't so tense, his brows so furrowed, and the frown replaced with a goofy 100 watt smile. Then everything would truly be back to normal.

Gai slowly stood up from his desk and stiffly made his way over towards her seated form. Despite her body's instincts telling her to run, she just didn't have the heart to do such a thing to the man before her. He looked scared.

For the two long years that she had known the man, never once had he _ever _given her a reason to be afraid or creeped out by him.

"Yes, Gai?"

He looked guilty as he continued making his very towards her; he had flinched at her soft tone, which hadn't been loud or rude. She just wanted to show him her willingness to listen to his side of the story- the side that he had been hiding from her for over the past two weeks.

"Are you afraid, Tenten?"

She looked at him dead in the eye and saw the fear that was written all over his body. His stance was a nervous one, his hands fidgety, and Gai's lips were pressed to a thin line.

"No," she softened her tone some more, "but why are you?"

It looked like her words only served to add more weight onto Gai's shoulders; he visibly sagged when she asked him why he was so afraid. Her question seemed to trigger something, but what that something was she didn't know.

Gai walked behind her and removed the rope. He said nothing as she went to fully remove the duct tape that was still pathetically sticking to her left cheek.

The tape came off easily enough, but the tension in the room was another matter entirely. She was absolutely speechless as to what to say to the entire situation. The only thing she knew for sure was that she would no longer stand for this silence.

"In the two years that I've worked for you, not even a mosquito was spared your sympathy. Why did you do this?"

She got up from the chair and turned to face him. This secrecy was going to stop and he was going to answer all of her questions.

The expression on Gai's face was one of defeat. His feet were doing that weird tapping thing that always indicated just how frayed his nerves were. For once, she didn't feel the need to tell him to stop doing that.

"You won't believe me." He challenged.

She accepted, "Try me."

A wry smirk and blank stare was his facial response before saying, "Even I don't believe it half the time."

"I know what you're trying to do. Don't try and get out of this, just spit it out already. I will kick your ass if you keep beating around the bush like this."

They engaged in a stare-off that ended with Gai losing.

The man took a deep breath before explaining, "It started almost 6 years ago to this month when I ran into a man with orange hair and supplies that I could only see in my dreams. He called himself Nagato and I thought myself very fortunate to have found such resources when I needed them. Now I know better."

He paused, arms crossed and eyes looking past Tenten and towards his office door. A difficult thought seemed to pass through his mind, his eyebrows furrowing deeply and his hands constantly cracking their joints. He looked horribly conflicted, and Tenten didn't want to push him anymore than she had to. They were standing in Gai's office and Tenten was perfectly comfortable with where they were. Gai, on the other hand, looked ready to run.

And then he took off.

Gai booked it out of the room and was out of her sight before she even realized what had just happened. Flabbergasted, she could do nothing for several moments, her mind having trouble focusing on just how fast everything had moved. Gai was an a-hole like that sometimes...

"Hey!" She turned and called after him, heading out the only exist in the entire room.

Quickly, impatiently, and before she got a good look at her surroundings, she ran out the door to follow Gai... Only to be knocked down to the floor thanks to the force that crashed into her.

They collided and something heavy fell to the floor with a thud. She had collided against someone (probably Gai), shoulder first and had sprawled out to the floor with her face flat against the ground, somewhere behind her, Gai was groaning in pain.

Not wanting to waste time, she simply ignored her pains and got up from the floor slowly so as not to aggravate her bruises. Something had been dropped and she had an inkling that it held some importance to their conversation.

When she turned to her side to catch a glimpse of the something that had fallen to the floor, her curiosity grew insatiable. It was an enormous, white, and simple looking box, but she wasn't going be fooled by its appearance. The amount of noise that box had created when it hit the floor was more than enough evidence to prove this theory correct.

That was no simple box.

Gai was moaning about his shoulder, but she shouted over him, "What's in the box?" (1)

Tenten walked closer to the box so that she could get a better view of it. When the box was within reach, she threw all caution to the wind and just sat down next to it to open the white box. Gai was still sprawled out on the floor, but he was silent as she proceeded to pull out photos and documents from the box.

The first papers were just photos of Gai's young friend, Lee, and some of the documents had Lee's name on them. The word 'organ failure' was what finally caught her attention and forced her to focus on what had been written on the papers.

She had been so anxious and impatient to just get everything out of the box, that she had failed to truly pay attention to the contents of the papers. Some of these documents were medical records.

Lee's medical records.

The documents went on to talk about things like: 'failing,' 'terminal,' and 'chemotherapy' and many other things she was having a hard time understanding. All the times that she had seen Lee, he had been a healthy and _extremely _(you had to be in order to keep up with Gai) active. When did this come up?

She was so immersed in her reading, Gai startled her horribly when he quietly spoke, "Nagato had him killed."

Confused and slightly numb, she set down the papers and turned to face Gai, "What?"

He was still on the floor, face turned away from her as he continued to answer softly, "Lee was recovering. They had just finished stitching his back, so he was down and out on the medication that they had prescribed. All of the doctors tell me he O.D.'d... But I know Nagato had his medication switched. "

It was silent and for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to ask anymore questions at the moment. She wanted to comfort him, but Tenten knew that that was the last thing that Gai would respond to.

The glare, clenched hands, and tense shoulders were strong enough signals that she didn't need to ask him if he was okay. She wasn't stupid. He would not find comfort in her words, much less her sympathy. So it slightly pained her when she ignored her instincts of kindness and plowed ahead with her questions.

"Is that why you've been so secretive with me these past few weeks? Why did Nagato kill Lee?"

"Yes, that's why I've been so out of it. Nagato killed Lee because Lee had come to the decision that he no longer wanted to participate with the lab's studies. When I found out that they had killed Lee, I threatened to rat Nagato out."

Another silence consumed the room and she could only go back to the box for a distraction while Gai recovered. His eyes had begun to glisten by the end of his tirade.

She dug deep and buried her hands underneath all of the contents of the box, pulling out several more documents and photos to look through. The papers were ranged between fresh white and aged yellow; the box smelled musty and the papers had so many ink smudges, she wondered how she would manage to read them.

A good chunk of the papers were documents that she didn't want to read through just yet. She looked through the pile and grabbed all of photos she could spot; dutifully and kindly avoiding any more photos with Lee. Placing the photos carefully in front of her, she settled herself down and concentrated on the photos.

The oldest looking one was torn in several places and had been folded over so many times, the lines made it hard to get a good look at the blurry picture of a man that was standing casually against a tree. From what she could make out, the man had spiked dull orange hair and thick piercings littering his face.

Another picture captured the image of two boys, one blond and the other a red head, caught in a playful battle of dominance. The blurry picture depicted them as happy; they were both smiling as the red head pinned the blond down and was pinching his sides. The picture was too blurry for her to properly make out their ages, but this photo was one the few that were in excellent condition.

Several of the other pictures just showed images of supplies and equipment in a clinical laboratory setting, trucks that were moving items from out of a dock(or so she thought, she couldn't be sure), and a building that was surrounded by what appeared to be a forest. Eyebrows raised by this last pic, she pulled it out and show it to Gai.

"Is this what was blown up? I've never seen this building before."

"Yes, that's what was blown up and no one was to know of that building's existence, that's why you don't know about it."

"Hmm."

Pulling out the photo of the orange haired man, she asked, "Who's this guy?"

Gai stiffened, but instead of flat out answering her question, he told her cryptically, "If I tell you, you will never be safe."

She only scoffed at this, "Really Gai? You know, by saying that, I can safely assume that this is that Nagato guy you were talking about. There, now I'm not safe. You may continue with your explanation."

She kept her back straight, chin raised and eyes steady; she was prepared for anything. Gai cracked a small smile at her display of defiance, but she did not feel comforted by it.

"That's Nagato, you're right, and the only reason why I haven't burned that picture is because that is the only recent photograph that anyone has of that man. I use the term 'recent' loosely due to the fact that that photo is probably four years old now. I'm going to give this box to the Uchiha clan for their Intel."

Part of her couldn't resist raising a brow at the aforementioned Uchiha clan.

"I've heard several... _interesting _stories about them... Those guys are nuts. How the hell do they fit into this?"

"Interesting, yes. Nuts? Definitely. But let me tell you, Tenten; there are things in this world and we should be thankful as all hell that we have crazy people like the Uchiha clan and several other groups that are just as 'nuts' and 'interesting' as these people. "

Gai took a deep breath before moving on, "When I tell you this, remember, you asked for it."

She fixed him a hard stare before replying, "You blew up about a quarter of the forest, so, actually, you forced me into confronting you about this. Remember, at the end of the day, _I'm_the one who has to go back out there and clean up your mess. I just want to hear your side of the story before I go apeshit on your ass for leaving me with such a mess." She finished her rant with a mean smile aimed his way.

Lifting up the picture of the two boys, she threw it at Gai's feet, who had risen up from his fallen form on the floor in order to sit up indian style. He grabbed the photo and frowned a little bit, before telling her that particular pictures backstory.

"They just showed up out of nowhere two years ago. I thought that the red head might be related to Nagato, but I'm not sure. The blond, on the other hand, I know isn't related to Nagato in any way. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's being held captive. His name is Naruto, and he used to live in the middle of the countryside on the far side of this country.

"He never told me why he stays, just that he can't leave yet. Me and Kiba," she glared heatedly at this but chose to remain silent for the sake of hearing about the two boys, " see him exploring the woods every now and then. There's almost always a guard after him, though, and I can't exactly help him out with his plight if he doesn't tell me or ask me for assistance."

He looked guilty when he mentioned not being able to help Naruto, but moved on, "Nagato came to me almost 6 years ago, July 2003. Things were pretty bad back then, for Lee. This job pays pretty well, but surgeries cost a lot of money and things like 24/7 nurses, special treatments, and pain medication are within a rich man's reach. Not mine.

"That bastard must have been stalking me or something, because he came to me at a pretty critical moment in my life. Lee was in constant pain and his body just wasn't responding to the simple medicines that I could afford. Even with the loans, I just couldn't bring in enough money for the actual treatments that would have made things easier for Lee."

Gai looked so pained as he whispered desperately, "Tenten... I just didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I didn't want to lose him."

Setting aside her insecurities about doing this, she crawled closer to Gai and gently placed her hand upon his shoulder. He only continued to look at the ground, arms tense, hands clenched and allowing his bangs to hide his face from her eyes.

He continued, "Just when I thought it was too late, a man with orange hair and piercings came up to me with an offer that I just could not refuse. Nagato offered to take care of all the medical bills and help Lee recover what he had lost to the tumors. Not only that, but he said he knew of a radical new treatment that would cure this.

"All I had to do was keep quiet. Keep quiet, and let Nagato build a facility that would basically serve as a hospital and a drug laboratory. Not only could I visit Lee while he was being treated, but I would have Lee back to the healthy and happy boy that he once was.

"It sounded too good to be true, but then Nagato showed me the miracles that his drugs and treatments had performed. I was sold once I saw for myself just how amazing and effective these drugs were.

"I saw useless limbs come back to their fully functioning forms, Nagato showed me his advanced labs and the people he had treated. None of them had an ill-will towards Nagato, they were all so grateful to be back to their old selves. I was introduced to doctors and nurses who had such a passion and heart for the well-being of their patients; I knew Lee would be in a good hands.

"When I suggested this to Lee, he had no objections against this... That's because I didn't tell him about the second part of my agreement: The part where I fully consented to helping Nagato avoid the authorities from becoming suspicious of the building that was set up in the middle of the forest.

"Nagato had his lab and hospital set up within roughly three months and, as he had promised, all of Lee's bills were taken care of. Lee was transferred over to the facility in the forest and I was able to visit him as often and for as long as I wanted.

"At first I didn't think much of Nagato's lab. Lee was being treated kindly and, within a year, his tumors were taken care of. We were able to actually walk _side-by-side_through the forest without Lee needing assistance of any kind. Content with everything that was happening, I just ignored my instinct to run to the authorities and tell them of the lab. I feared that the labs would be destroyed and with that, so would Lee's chance of surviving.

Gai pulled at the loose strands that were jutting out of the carpet beneath his feet, thinking deeply before saying, "I trusted Lee's ability to judge a person and Lee made no indication that Nagato was hurting him or anyone for that matter. Everything was fine and dandy the first year, the second year and even the third year. It was only in the fourth year that I realized some things were going on and that maybe what I had allowed would be the ruin of everyone."

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><p><em>Two years ago...<em>

The wind was cool, but the sun was bright and warm, reaching out to all corners of the forest of the blooming forest that he had dedicated his life to. Branches left, right and above him were lightly dusted with colors of light, dark and bright greens. The trail that he was on was perfectly hidden deep within the recesses of the forest. Only trained eyes or a curious creature would be able to spot the trail.

His usual jogging buddy had been asleep when Gai had gone to visit him, but Gai didn't have the heart to wake him from such a peaceful looking slumber. As it was, Gai was running alone this morning, a fact that he didn't mind too much. No, he would meet up with Lee later and they could go for another jog in the afternoon.

For now, it was just Gai, the wind and the forest. He just focused on the wind blowing his hair, enjoyed the adrenaline he felt whenever he leapt over a particularly large fallen tree, and gladly accepted the challenges of running up steep hills. It was a good run and it allowed him to focus on the little things that made life so much more enjoyable.

Gai was filled with a burst of joy, that translated to more energy, and he was soon zipping past creeks, branches and the occasional running fox. A trail of leaves followed him closely as he continued making his way through the forest.

Ah, the feel of muscles keeping pace with the wind, the sweat that was whipped right off his skin, and the easy breathing- It was days like these that made life worth living!

There was no warning as a blond blur crashed against him and they both landed with a splash in the middle of a creek. Not only did Gai hate getting wet, but to make matters worse, the water had completely ruined his running shoes. What was that about days like these that made life worth living?

Upon closer inspection, Gai realized that the blond blur was a little boy that had crashed into him. The little boy must have been pretty dazed after collision, though, because the boy was immobile and seated in the deep part of the creek. The water went up to his elbows and Gai couldn't make out his face due to his blond locks blocking the boy's face.

Mad about the loss of such good shoes Gai stood up from the water and began sputtering, "You! You little! Do you-" and then he stopped as he got a good look at his surroundings.

Where did all of these people come from?

Surrounding them, guns out and ready, were small groups of men and women of all shapes and physiques. Some of them were dressed appropriately for their environment, others were dressed for a formal event.

The water dripped slowly down his face and his hair stuck to his face uncomfortably. It was quiet as everyone just stood and observed the situation. No matter how he looked at the situation, though, Gai still felt pretty fucked.

One of the men, wearing a dark green suit and sunglasses that covered half of his face, took several slow steps towards Gai and the motionless blond child that had yet to say a single word. The man had shoulder length blond hair that was pulled into a half-ponytail, but that was all Gai could clearly make out of the man.

The man continued walking calmly towards them, but once he reached the edge of the creek the blond man pulled out a gun and Gai just knew something bad was going to happen to him.

Gai immediately stood up from the creek and tried to make a run for it, but felt his entire world tilt on its axis as the water he stood in suddenly turned cold and then froze solid, trapping his legs.

"What the?"

He turned and twisted to try and dislodge his legs, but all he succeeded in doing was falling flat on his butt. His heart rate sped up as he realized that these kinds of things, such as the water freezing in the middle of June, are not normal and that guns were currently being pointed at him for no good reason.

Seated and stuck, Gai was left defenseless as the blond man walked on top of the ice and made his way over to Gai and the blond child, who still had yet to utter a single word. And then Gai's heart stopped again as he realized that the child was worse off than him.

The child had been submerged from the elbows down. When the creek froze, not only were the child's legs trapped, but his hands were left useless. His breathing had also begun to shallow out and Gai noticed that the child's shoulders were trembling.

Worried for the child and forgetting his surroundings, including the ice, Gai asked the blond child, "Hey, you okay there little guy?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Gai."

Whipping his head in the direction he heard the voice coming from, Gai glared and asked, "Do what?"

It was the blond man, who was now pointing a gun to his head, that had spoken to him. The blond continued to aim his gun at Gai while speaking, "I mean: Don't interact with the boy, uhn. You see, he's very important to us, but he has this nasty habit of getting other people into deep shit, uhn. Like you right now. Everything was perfectly fine up until he ran into you.

"See what we mean, Naruto? You even manage to hurt perfectly innocent strangers. You're a threat that should be locked up and kept away from people who don't know any better."

Gai kept his eyes on the gun pointed at him, but the sniffling noises that he kept hearing from his right made Gai glance at the child, Naruto, every so often.

The blond man spoke again, "Don't worry, Gai. We don't want to harm you, we just want to take Naruto back with us. Kisame, release Gai, uhn."

The solid ice that he was seated upon slowly returned to its original liquid form and Gai was released from his trap. Not moving from his seated position, though, Gai slowly sunk to the bottom of the creek. Although he didn't know what to make of this, a primal part of him wanted to just run and never look back. But the human and flawed part of him wouldn't allow him.

Gai wanted to know and see and experience this event unfold before him, so he just stayed put.

"Gai." Was the small threat that was spoken harshly to him, as the gun touched his forehead and the safety was removed.

The man sighed loudly and, exasperatedly, said, "Listen, Gai, you're better off not getting caught up with this kid, uhn. My boss said not to hurt the kid, but he didn't say anything about witnesses. The only reason you aren't dead yet is because you play a major part in hiding our base. This is a 'thank-you' gesture that I am making. Now get the hell out."

Slowly, the gun was removed from his forehead and put back within the folds of the blond man's suit. As much as Gai wanted to believe this man's words- he was terrified for the blond. Why else would so many people be carrying weapons if not to hurt someone?

Just as Gai was getting ready to give the man a piece of his mind, a younger and quieter voice spoke up and absolutely _demolished _the tension that had been building up to unbearable levels. The voice came from his immediate right and Gai was left speechless.

"You should leave. Lee's waiting for you back at the lab."

When Gai only continued to stare in disbelief, too shocked to make sense of what the kid had just suggested, the boy just simply rephrased his request and aimed it at the blond man.

"Deidara, please have someone escort Gai back to the hospital."

How did this kid know Lee?

What did these people want from Naruto, this _child_?

Base? Did the blond man, Deidara, mean the hospital that _Nagato_built?

Was Nagato behind all of this?

"Kisame, take him to the hospital."

Gai was so absorbed in his own thoughts, he failed to pay attention to his current surroundings. His attention was brought back to the real (?) world as a hand grabbed his shoulder and hauled him out of the water.

Before he could argue, the hand grabbed his elbow and pulled him in a general direction away from the scene. The rest of the group of people were making their way closer towards the two blonds in the middle of the creek. From what he could make out though, he saw Deidara kneel down and begin to pet the blonds hair- and that was all Gai saw as he was dragged away...

… And placed inside of a car.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Someone burst out laughing and Gai knew he had uttered his last thoughts out loud. Dazed, Gai just turned his head in the direction he had heard the noises come from. To the right of him, was the man who was probably the sole reason behind everything that had just transpired.

Casually seated next to him, wearing dark jeans, a purple polo, and orange hair spiked upright, was Nagato. The man was clutching his stomach and laughing with such gusto, Gai began to feel awkward. Not only that, but the car had begun to move and speed out of the area, making Gai nervous.

And when Gai feels nervous, he doesn't like to take shit from anyone.

"Who the _hell_are you people?"

Nagato stopped laughing and focused his dark honeyed eyes on to Gai's form. He smirked and threw his hands up in the air, giving a sigh of defeat.

Not that Nagato ever lost.

"I knew you were going to ask me that question at some point. But, before I tell you anything of importance, I have a phone call that I would like for you to listen to."

Thrusting his pale and thin hand into his right pocket, Nagato fished about and pulled forth a small cellphone which he proceeded to just stare at. It was a dinky little thing: dull blue, thick, small screen, and with a large number pad._ Probably one of those indestructible phones_, Gai wondered why a man of Nagato's wealth would own a cellphone like that.

The screen was blank for a moment, and Gai heard Nagato grumble something along the lines of "Some time right now would phenomenal." For a full minute nothing happen and Gai was starting to feel awkward just watching Nagato stare so intently at the phone. Then the screen lit up with a number and began to blare an obnoxious sound.

Swiftly, Nagato pushed a button and even more sound blasted out of the phone- sounds that were very similar to medical personnel shouting to one another.

"...Keep him awake!"

"Where's he bleeding from _now_?"

"He's stopped breathing!"

"Heartrate's slowing down!"

Just as Gai's imagination took a turn for the worse, Nagato held the phone to his mouth and, with the carefree spirit that only an asshole could carry at a time like this, asked, "Is it really as bad as I'm hearing?"

An unfamiliar voice calmly replied over all of the shouting, "Yeah, looks like he's going to need some more surgery. Do you want us to get him prepped up?"

"Give me one second."

Gai couldn't breath after Nagato said that, and his fears only grew as the voices in the other phone kept repeating the signs of possible organ failures. Nagato pushed another button on the phone and turned to look at Gai, a confident smile plastered on his face.

Lee needed him... Lee _needed_ him... _Lee needed him..._

The frantic mantra invaded his soul and Gai was left with no weapons to defend himself. The creek with all those men had been different, he could have fought them off or run out of the situation... but with Lee, the matter was entirely flipped around.

Lee had been a very weak and frail thing after the tumors invaded his body. Gai saw first hand how the aftermath of chemotherapy could and would turn deadly on the spot. Even with the help of Nagato's facility, there was always the chance that Lee would die to something as simple as the flu.

When Nagato placed the cellphone between the two of them, Gai felt a terror begin to crawl up his back. Dread was fogging up his mind, fear was stilling his body and panic was making his heart race. The car had begun to move, speeding almost, and Gai only tensed further into his seat.

Lee was always there when Gai needed him, now, it was time for Gai to return the favors.

"What do you want?" Gai didn't want to beat around the bush anymore- he knew where this conversation would be going.

Nagato shrugged his shoulders and frowned, explaining, "Well, I have to make sure we're clear on a few things. I can't risk having you blabbering your mouth off to someone; so, I want you to keep your mouth shut about the little blond child you just saw. Really, he isn't worth the trouble."

"Then why do you want me to stay quiet about it."

A glare from those dark honeyed eyes prevented him from breathing for a few seconds.

"Do you want Lee to have the operation or not?"

Gai took a shuddering breath and nodded.

"Then you will forget about that child. You're only concern is staying quiet, helping me keep this place hidden, and to keep an eye out for the blond child should you ever see him again. lf you do ever see him again, I want you to follow him and keep an eye on him until my men can retrieve him.

"The blond child will always have some kind of security around him. So, if you see him walking around without security, you may contact my men and inform them of the blond's location." Nagato pointed to the phone sitting between them, "That phone has a GPS signal that my men can track, just hit the star button and my men will immediately be able to locate your position."

Gai picked up the phone, accepting his new role.

Light streamed into the car and Gai was blinded by the sunlight that hit him in the eye. Someone grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him out of the car. He hit the ground hard and had to spit out a mouthful of dirt. His eyesight strained, Gai could do nothing but lay on the ground.

Nagato called out to him one last time, "Go say 'hi' to Lee for me!" Gai heard a door slam shut and tires squeal against gravel.

When his vision returned, moments later, the car was gone and he was right in front of the facility treating Lee. The phone was tightly clenched in his right hand.

* * *

><p>"I went in to go see Lee, and the nurse said that he was being prepped for surgery. I didn't get to see Lee until two hours later, after the surgery was declared a success and Lee was lucid enough to have a conversation with me.<p>

The phone I was carrying in my pocked weighed as though I was carrying a ton. I never let go of that phone for a whole year, even though I felt so much heavier with it."

Tenten looked at the photo with the two boys and let out a breath she didn't realize that she had been holding. She picked up the picture and held it before her, looking closely and noticing nothing wrong or abnormal about it.

"Did you ever find out what was so important about Naruto?"

Gai shook his head negative, "No."

"How often did you see him?"

"Every blue moon or something to that extent. I think Nagato's men kept a damn good eye on that kid, I never had to push the star button, there was always a guard around."

"How did Naruto know about Lee?"

"I have no idea. When I asked Lee about the Naruto kid, Lee hadn't seen him or heard of a boy like that being treated in the facility.

"l was only able to actually converse with him, once, less than a month ago. The guard must have slipped off somewhere for something, and Naruto was able to sneak away for long enough" Gai's voice broke and he started sniffling, "to warn me."

Gai buried his face in his hands and she heard him muffle out, "Naruto warned me. Told me to get out while I still could, but I couldn't just leave Lee. I chose to stay, in hopes that Naruto was wrong."

The man before her broke down and began to sob, "But instead, I got him killed. And now Nagato's destroyed his own building meaning he has no use for me. I'm going to be killed, and now you and Kiba are going to die, too, because I just told you everything.

"God, what have I done?" She felt cold, as Gai just sat miserably on the floor and let his grief loose. Tenten said nothing as the Gai continued to cry.

Tenten hadn't been exposed to these people as Gai had been, so she didn't truly comprehend everything that was or had transpired. She just knew that being a sitting duck was about the stupidest thing they could be doing right at that moment.

Doing stupid things may have been alright with other people, but Tenten was not other people. Maybe that's why she was so irritated by Gai's behavior.

"Fuck. My. Life." She muttered.

Collecting all of the documents and photos, she shoved them roughly into the box. Once that was done, she got up and walked over to the window to give Gai some space, and to get away from the puddle that was forming beneath Gai's feet.

She was uncomfortable around crybabies.

Though she knew Gai's sadness was completely called for, it did nothing in solving the situation at hand. The cops were the absolute logical and smart move; Unfortunately, she had this distinct feeling that they would move too slow for her liking. Not to mention the amount of trouble Gai would be in once word got out about the facility.

From the look of things, that facility was probably used for more things other than treating cancer patients. Also adding to her worries was the unknown Nagato: what if he makes enough money to bribe a cop (not that it takes much)? It wasn't that hard, nor was it uncommon.

It happened in Konoha city _all the time_.

Her eyes landed on Gai's sobbing form and realized a fact that made her feel extremely uneasy.

"Gai?"

His cries stopped and he rasped out, "What?"

"You are an absolute klutz and you can't stay quiet for more than a half-hour. How the hell did you manage to get all of this information?"

"Naruto escaped one last time to give that to me. He's also the one who told me to go and talk to the Uchiha clan, said that they would know what to do."

Heart racing, she could only lean against the window and try to catch her breath, "So basically, this is stolen information from a man that can kill us."

Gai nodded his head and went back to sniffling.

Wonderful.

"Do you know if Nagato knows that you have this?"

"I don't know, but when he finds out, he'll just take us out and take the box back with him or something."

Absolutely. Wonderful.

For some reason, Tenten was just never the kind of girl to sit around and let other people do things for her. She had always been independent and prepared for the worst; she never let things like sadness or uncertainty stop or slow her down.

No wonder she was so irritated by Gai's behavior.

"Gai, get off your sorry ass. We've got work to do."

He just stared at the floor.

"Gai, _please_," she couldn't possibly stress this out enough, "I need you _here_. Okay? Just for a little bit longer. After we get done with work-"

"He'll be watching us."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear, it confirmed some of her fears and forced her to have to come up with a different strategy to go about things.

"Okay; how will Nagato do that?"

"Some of the police officers and firefighters are on his payroll. They'll be here and make sure I don't say a word. Then, when everyone else is looking the other way, they'll kill us."

Tenten took a deep breath and let her mind digest the situation. There was a good chance that she and Gai were outnumbered and outgunned. Even if they did get the hell out of the forest area, there was no guarantee that they would be any safer in the city. It would also look really bad and suspicious.

Also, what about Kiba? Where was he?

Her eyes landed on Gai's prone form, then moved to the box bursting with intel that would get them killed, and, finally, her eyes saw the phone on Gai's desk. She knew what she had to do.

"Gai, I'm going to call Kiba and have him stay with us, okay? But I need you to stay with me just a little bit longer. Don't leave my sight at any point in time, alright?"

She walked over to his form, ignoring the _squish_ing sounds her footsteps made on the carpet once she reached him. Balancing carefully on the balls of her feet, she sat next to him and poked his shoulder gently.

"What's the number to the Uchiha Force, Gai? I don't really know what's all going on, but from the way it sounds, these people will."

" I don't remember it, but I have it written down somewhere. I think it's in one of the drawers in my desk. It's on a neon green sticky note with a phone number that's not in my handwriting."

Happy to be away from the puddle, she quickly moved to retrieve the phone number. Once she reached his desk, she pulled open the first drawer her hands could reach and began to dig through all of his crap. Gai was a terrible keeper of anything, so there was no point in asking him if he even remembered which drawer he had put the phone number in.

The paper Gai had described wasn't in that first drawer, so she checked another one and then the other drawer and then another drawer. She found the little sticky note in the last drawer and immediately set it in the middle of the desk so that she wouldn't lose sight of it.

Reaching over for the phone, she quickly dialed Kiba's cell phone number. When he picked up, she felt he deserved to get yelled at.

"You are in so much shit right now, it's not even funny."

"Gai tell you everything then, I take it?"

"You need to get over here."

"Sorry, can't. My dogs are being called in to investigate the fire and other stupid shit like that."

Tenten felt her left eye begin to twitch and she pulled the phone away from her mouth to shout to Gai, "I don't think Kiba realizes how much shit we're all in."

Gai only gave her a blank stare as he explained, "He doesn't _ever _know what's going on even if you give the idiot a play-by-play."

"God, I hate you both."

"I blame the doctor that dropped me."

"I do too."

Tenten put the phone back to her ear and with a stern voice, ordered, "Kiba, I don't care what the police officer's have asked of you. They have their own dogs that are perfectly capable of sniffing out the fire."

Once those words came out of her mouth, she felt numb as she words registered her own words.

"I thought that, too, but they're being really persistant. I'm just heading over my house right now to pick up Akamaru. How 'bout you guys just stay put and I'll go and pick you up?"

She thought fast and responded confidently "Yeah, you go ahead and come pick us up." Kiba hung up on her and she immediately began to dial in the number for the Uchiha's.

"What did Kiba say?"

"I think they've already got him. He's heading our way."

Gai was nervous, "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to get us out of this shit hole you threw us into- Who am I supposed to be speaking to?"

"Naruto said to ask for Fugaku or Ibiki."

"Do you trust them?"

"They're all we've got at this point."

Gai was nervously pacing in front of her, biting his nails and continuously glancing at her. His presence was extremely annoying, but it was just the thing that she needed to keep her head clear... Oddly enough.

The phone rang four times before being answered by a gruff voice, "_Hello? Uchiha Fugaku speaking._"

"Hello, I'm one of the forest rangers at Konoha Forest and we are in need of your assistance."

She didn't want to give out too much information, just enough to get the Uchiha's to have a reason to help them out. Although Gai had told her that she should trust them (they were their only chance), there was that small part of her that wanted to be triple sure. It never hurt to be absolutely sure about everything, especially when it involved their lives.

"_Who am I speaking to?_"

"My name is Tenten."

"_And what is it that you need the Uchiha Force for?_"

"I'm afraid it's too much to explain over the phone. Also, I need to demonstrate some things in order for you to understand the entire situation that my forest rangers and I have placed ourselves in."

"_Aside from myself, is there anyone else that is needed for this?_"

"A man named Ibiki, and anyone else you can send out. Please, _please_, we need you here as soon as possible." She didn't mean to, but the pressure was really starting to get to her and she couldn't help but sound desperate.

"_Where do you want us to meet you?_"

"By the explosion site."

"_I don't have clearance-_"

"That won't be a problem. I'll let the officer's know of your assistance."

"_Hn... Then we'll be there in 30 minutes._"

"My hair will be in two buns and I'm pretty sure I'll be the only female in a green/khaki colored uniform."

"_Is there anything that we should know about immediately? I don't want to make that trek and then have to make a stop at a gear shop just because my shoes are inappropriate._" There was chuckling in the background at this.

Asshole thought she was trying to be funny.

She didn't hesitate in destroying whatever bubble of joy he was currently in, "I suggest you bring in your best men and whatever weapons you can get your hands on. And do it in a subtle manner or you'll get my co-workers killed."

Fuck that asshole.

As much as she wanted to just hang up on him, she politely thanked him for his _ass_istance and set the phone down gently. She felt no shame when she collapsed on Gai's chair.

Gai was on her the instant she looked up at him, "Well? What did they say?"

"They'll be here."

Just as Tenten was about to put her head down, she heard a door slam open and shouting coming from the hallway. Gai was already in the hallway by the time she got up from the chair. The nerves were back.

Following her paranoia, she quickly went to the box and picked it up, struggling with it due to the unexpected weight. She looked frantically around the room before her eyes landed on the closet that held all of Gai's disgusting and smelly workout clothes.

She shoved the box inside the closet and buried it beneath the mountain of unwashed clothes. The stench would be enough to deter _any_curious being from looking inside of the closet, much less dig through all of the clothes.

Closing the door to the closet, she mentally prepared herself for what may be outside in the hallway. She wasn't too afraid, Gai was out there already and it sounded like Kiba was out there, too. She could do this.

The shouting only got louder as she walked out and into the hallway. She took a small breath as she fully observed the scene before her.

Kiba was an absolute mess. His unruly hair was covered in dirt and leaves, his clothing was drenched in mud and some kind of dark liquid that she didn't really want to distinguish. The dogs flanking Kiba were also covered in the dark liquid.

Neither Kiba nor the dogs appeared to be in pain, but she still didn't want to know what the liquid was or where it came from.

Kiba was raising all kinds of hell and was aiming at one person: Gai.

"You _stupid, piece of shit_! Do you realize what you've done? You could have at least given _me_ a heads up that they were going to pull this shit! You've _fucking_ killed us! You couldn't have at least _pretended_to be less mad at Nagato?"

Gai moved to calm Kiba, but that only seemed to anger Kiba further.

"NO! Don't come near me and don't tell me to _fucking_ calm down! This is _bullshit! _Why do I have to die because _you couldn't keep your goddamn cool?_"

Kiba was flailing his arms wildly as he continued to scream to high heaven, pointing and shoving Gai whenever the poor man was within reach. Gai was doing his best to calm Kiba down, but all he was really doing was screaming over Kiba's screaming.

How were these two children her superiors again?

"They made me go and play fucking _fetch_ with a _body_! And when I did find it, they made me drop it in the creek and then they fucking froze it! Do you know who was the body? DO YOU?"

"Kiba, please calm down-"

"It was Lee!"

"... What?"

Kiba was hysterical at this point. His eyes were wide and he was pointing one single finger in Gai's direction, whispering, "You killed Lee. You let them have Lee when he was alive and now you're going to let them have Lee dead. And now you're going to let them have us-"

_slap!_

Kiba was pissed and was directing all of his rage towards Gai, that was understandable and even forgivable. But to flat out accuse him of Lee's death? When Gai was already killing himself over it? Oh no, not on her watch.

Tenten was seething and overflowing with the desire to maim the idiot before her.

Her voice was slightly shaking when she said, "Shut the _fuck. Up. _You will pull yourself together and you will _calm down._Do you understand?"

Kiba wasn't looking at her, glaring past her and towards Gai. When he made no indication of listening to her, she slapped him again, harder.

_slap! slap!_

"Do you understand!"

Kiba pushed her and started walking away from them, saying quietly, "They're waiting for us downstairs. I need to get a clean uniform."

Tenten nodded her head and watched Kiba and his dogs go back down the staircase; he was probably headed towards his office to go and change. Kiba was slowly recovering and she wasn't too worried about him anymore.

She didn't want to think about the people downstairs, her more pressing concern was Gai. She hoped he wasn't too damaged at this point, or else they were all screwed.

Walking up to him, she sized him up and immediately knew that she was going to have to act fast. She slapped him as well.

"Remember, _I need you __**here**_and you can't leave me or Kiba alone to deal with your shit. Okay? Please, Gai, if you want to get back at them, you can't leave. Not even for a second, okay?"

Gai just stared at her, but he nodded his head. She hugged him fiercely and ignored the wet trails on her face. She wasn't sniffling, and neither was Gai.

* * *

><p>Kiba was changed and his dogs were clean by the time Tenten and Gai finally went down to the lobby. When Kiba didn't turn to look at them, she correctly interpreted that as a sign of hostility towards her. He just walked outside to a waiting jeep and Tenten felt her heart plummet. She didn't recognize the dark green jeep.<p>

Gai saw her hesitation and gripped her hand tightly. She felt her heart begin to race again, but she just concentrated on her breath and ignored the butterflies in her stomach. They could do this, she repeated to herself mentally.

They just had to wait things out long enough for the Uchiha Force to get to the explosion site. After that, the Uchiha's would be able to protect them and get them out of the forest safely. Things were going to work out, because that's how Tenten had planned for this to turn out. And when she plans something, goddamnit, it better turn out that way.

There was a blonde female with four pigtails waiting for them once they stepped outside of the building. She wore dark red baggy pants, a black tank top, and her arms were covered in fishnet sleeves. Using one hand, the blonde was carrying the largest fan Tenten had ever seen in her life.

The fan was as big as the girl was tall, with a simple white background and one single red dot at the center of the fan. Tenten was about to ask the chick for a name, when the blonde lifted the fan and a gust of wind threw Tenten to a tree.

_Holy shit!_

Her back hit the tree and she fell to the ground with a hard _thud_. She couldn't breath and the pain sprouting from her back left her deaf to the world around her. From her peripherals, she could see Kiba running towards her and Gai was frantically waving his arms around.

By the time Kiba had reached her, she couldn't hold back her tears as the pain in her back exploded and she felt something wet drip from her back. _Fuck_, _I must a gash or something_, she thought as Kiba gently turned her so that he could get a better look at her back.

"Shit, Tenten. Hold still." She heard Kiba mutter softly.

She bite back a scream as he poked and prodded at the area, repeating to herself that he was only checking to make sure she hadn't broken anything. Tenten hoped it was just a gash, but before she could ask Kiba, something pulled Kiba away from her and she was once again blasted against the tree.

The scream escaped her before she could get a hold of herself and, by the time she hit the ground, she was sobbing from the pain. Her pain blurred the world around her (or was that because of the tears?), but she felt more blood dribbling out of her wounds.

Thanks to her previous wounds, the tree bark was given even more access to her flesh and had succeeded in tearing her even worse than before. It was all she could do to just lay facedown on the ground, but that didn't stop her from cussing up a storm.

The single most interesting thing about Tenten was her double personality whenever pain was present. Normally, she was the kindest and most modest person anyone had ever met before, but if she was in _any_kind of pain she could become just as violent and foul as any thug.

"FUCK! Ahhmygod! SHIT! YOU FUCKING CUNT! I hope you get raped and are left to die in a filthy ditch somewhere, you WHORE!"

Someone grabbed her shoulder and made to help her up, but a gust of wind threw her down to the ground. She landed on her side, but it was enough to jar her wounds and she released another bout of cussing, 'cause fuck this bitch.

"Fuck you! I bet your parents abandoned you cause you were such a FREAK SHOW-"

A whirlwind surrounded her and she was left breathless. The dirt rubbed against her eyes so she was forced to keep them eyes shut. The wind pulled her every which way and made it impossible for her to stand back up. Just as it had suddenly appeared, the wind died down and she could breath again.

Tenten rubbed her eyes quickly, not wanting to leave herself so vulnerable before the blond with the fan. When she opened her eyes, Gai and Kiba were anxiously standing before her with eyes wide open and mouths gaping.

"What-" was all she managed to get out before something wrapped around her and trapped her gently against the tree. She wanted to pass out so badly.

She screamed and struggled against her binds, "What the _fuck_is this?"

Branches had wrapped around her waist and cemented her butt to the ground, trapping her arms to her sides and preventing her from making any kind of movement. Kiba and Gai were in the same situation as her, they were tied to separate trees.

They were all too far apart to help each other out, but they could still look to each other and that was enough comfort; to know that they were all still together, eased their worries ever-so-slightly. She was thankful that Kiba and Gai didn't appear to be injured seriously.

"I'm sorry, miss, my partner just got a little ahead of herself, my apologies."

A man kneeled before her and Tenten wanted to get mad at this man, but she was too tired to struggle anymore. She just stared at his light brown colored eyes and did her best to ignore the gentle smile he had on. As if she was going to trust the man whose partner just tore her back apart.

The man reached for her and from her left, Tenten heard Kiba shout, "Yamato! Don't you fucking touch her! You stay the _fuck_away from her, your beef is with me and Akamaru!"

"Kiba," the man was staring directly at her even though he was addressing Kiba, "why should I listen to you, if you don't listen to me? It's not very fair, now, is it?"

"Yamato! Don't!"

Yamato formed a fist and pulled his arm back, and now Tenten could hear both Kiba and Gai roaring profanities. She was still staring Yamato dead on; her backbone was the strongest thing she could throw back at him in this situation.

The fist missed her head entirely and instead went through the tree branches holding her captive. A spider web of cracks formed around the area Yamato's fist had landed on, and the branch holding her hostage was effectively destroyed.

The man grabbed her hands and gently pulled her to her feet. She grit her teeth against the pain in her back and let herself be led by the man. Her back was in so much pain, but she held it in once she saw the blond staring at her with smile.

When Yamato pulled them closer towards the blond, Tenten was tempted to spit at the blond... But she held it in for a later time. Instead, she chose to focus on what was being so casually discussed to her.

"It is really unfortunate for you to be mixed in with these two men right now," Yamato said with a hint of sorrow at her misfortune, "but because of them, you're going to have to go disappear after all of this is said and done."

Yamato turned towards the blond, "Temari, I know you don't get along with women, but do me this favor and don't kill the poor girl just yet. Nagato said not to kill them until after we got rid of most of the evidence. Take her back inside of the building to get that wound bandaged and give her a hand if she needs it."

Temari looked ready to stab Tenten.

With the grace of a snake, Temari grabbed Tenten's left arm and dragged her back into the building, grumbling to Yamato, "She threw the bitch fit first, I just threw it back."

Yamato just sighed, "No, I know Temari. 'It's never your fault.' I get it. Just hurry up, the others are waiting back at the X base."

Temari dragged Tenten into the building, continuing to grumble and curse Tenten out for 'being such a cunt.' The only thing Tenten could do was hold her tongue and bear the pain just a little bit longer. She hadn't heard anything from Gai and Kiba, so she assumed she would be safe for the time being.

They just had to hold out for the Uchiha's: just half an hour and they would be safe. Tenten could take this kind of treatment for 30 minutes if it meant that they would be able to keep their lives. Until the Uchiha's showed up, Kiba, Gai and herself would have to hold on.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**1) while I was looking through this and trying to getting rid of as many mistake as I could, I read this line and totally just died laughing. If you known the meme, then you know why I laughed.**


	7. Where Have You Been?

**It's Time- Imagine Dragons**

**Princess of China- Coldplay ft. Rhianna**

**Where have you been?- Rihanna (This song has _some_ relevance, but not really.)**

**Close Call- Rilo Kiley (This song also has _some_ relevance, but not really.)**

**Ahhh, man... I have no excuse...**

**You guys can thank my new BETA, Cannibal Incorporated, for helping me with this next chapter. No, seriously guys, this chapter wouldn't have come out as nice or as soon without my BETA's help. THANK YOU Cannibal Incorporated!**

* * *

><p>"That's weird."<p>

"What?"

"You know that huge explosion down at the Konoha forest?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I wasn't put on call for it," The man leaned back on his chair, tilting it, and began scratching his chin, "Actually, a lot of the guys were either put on street parole or told to get their paperwork done."

"Then who was put on call for the explosion? Obviously the firefighters-"

"Only a few of those guys were called in. And medics didn't find out about the explosion till someone turned on the news channel!"

"Wow... So, who _was_put on call for that?"

The leaning man scoffed and sounded miffed as he said, "Those anti-social retards from the P units. What the hell are all those no-good, cockshit, assholes gonna do out there in the woods? Stare at the trees till their roots talk?"

"I don't know, man, but hey! At least we'll finally get some mountains off of our desks!"

The two men turned back to their desks, getting back to the loads of paperwork that were towering over them. As they began to work their way through the paperwork, both men failed to notice the small audience that casually and innocently strolled past them.

The audience continued to walk slowly through the police department till they reached the back doors. Once there, they checked the area to make sure they were alone. The one with grey hair and an eye-patch leaned against the wall but glanced left and right. The man with the chiseled beard kept his head down, intently listening for any sound that would indicate another presence.

When they deemed the area secure, the man with grey hair said quietly, "Fugaku wants us to go. Said he got a phone call from some kid named Tenten down at the explosion site. Looks like Akatsuki is already moving."

"Is it just us he's bringing?"

"No, Ibiki's coming along. I think Anko is also heading out."

"Kakashi-"

"That phone call was ten minutes ago. I don't know if Fugaku's called in more people since then. Don't worry about it, Asuma; I'm sure more people are coming."

Asuma straightened his back and narrowed his eyes, "I still don't like the odds. We don't even know who's all going to be there from Akatsuki."

"You anxious? I'm sure Kurenai won't be anywhere near the area. She would have told us if she was commanded to stay in the area." Kakashi moved away from the wall to put his hand on Asuma's shoulder, doing his best to assure the man.

Asuma just shrugged the hand off, grumbling, "I'm not worried about Kurenai, she can take care of herself."

"Then why are you worried?"

Asuma just glared at Kakashi, "Because someone needs to react accordingly."

Kakashi's laughter made Asuma's cheeks turn a deep shade of red. Once his laughter subsided, Kakashi began walking back towards the police station entrance. Asuma simply grumbled some more, before begrudgingly joining Kakashi's side.

"We'll be fine, Asuma."

Before Kakashi could further assure Asuma, someone bumped his shoulder. Instinctively, Kakashi turned to apologize only to find himself in a glaring match. The slanted blue eyes bore down on him and Kakashi couldn't help but want to punch the blond in the face.

"I would say 'sorry' or 'excuse me,' but you're not worth that sort of kindness."

"Oh, Detective Hatake, as if you are capable of such civilities."

Deidara was a man of many hobbies, the most prolific and disastrous one involving bombs and annoying the ever-loving shit out of Kakashi. It was a well-known fact, throughout the entire department, that the two could never stay in the same space for long.

Asuma cleared his throat, effectively bringing Kakashi's attention away from the head of the P units and back to earth, "Good afternoon, Lieutenant Deidara. We just got done with our shift and were heading out, what brings you here?"

"Good afternoon to you as well, Detective Sarutobi. I'm a little bit under the weather, so I'm just here to drop off some reports. Enjoy your free time, Detective Sarutobi."

Just when Asuma thought that their encounter with the Lieutenant would end well for once, Deidara took a small step towards Kakashi. Hocking up a lung, the blond aimed the loogie at Kakashi's feet, missing by just a centimeter.

An 'oops' was said so casually, none of the three men were fooled.

The air crackled around Kakashi, and that was all the flag Asuma needed to hurry them away from Deidara and towards their car. Asuma flinched as he heard Deidara's barking laughter. Before Kakashi could even think his next move, Asuma shoved him into the car and pinned him down with a stare.

"We're already wasting enough time. You need to calm the fuck down, because we've got a job to do. Ignore him for now."

"One of these days, when there aren't any witnesses, I'm gonna kill him."

Asuma just raised a brow at this, "Uh-huh. And what are you gonna do with the body?"

Without hesitation, Kakashi answered, "Mount his head on my wall."

"What about the rest of the body?"

"I just want his head. I'll probably find some necrophiliac and give the corpse to them." Deeming the man calm, Asuma just nodded his head and walked to the driver side of his compact car.

Once he was buckled in, Asuma heard Kakashi take a deep breath and whisper, "Iruka is going to _kill_me. I promised him 'couples time' and what does Karma do to me? God, I hate this job."

"Yup."

Once they made it out of the parking lot, Kakashi pulled out his cell phone and called the man that was leading the mission. Kakashi put his phone on speaker as he calmly asked for instruction.

"_Hatake! Where the fuck are you!_"

"We just left the station-"

"_Why weren't you out of the station 20 minutes ago? I ordered you to be at the residence in less than 15 minutes! We've already left- I CAN TALK ON THE PHONE AND DRIVE AT THE SAME TIME! Fugaku, do not tell me what I can and cannot do-_"

Kakashi hung up on Ibiki and tried a different phone number.

Sasuke answered on the third ring, "_We almost died. Please don't call Ibiki; he's our driver._"

Asuma and Kakashi exchanged a horrified look, "We're so sorry. Had we known, we would have left 30 minutes ago."

"_My father and I can manage, so long as you don't call him again. Where are you? Is Asuma with you?_"

"Yes, we just left the station, but from what I understood, we are not to meet at the residence?"

"_Correct; we're just going to go straight to the forest._"

Asuma signaled to him that it would be roughly 30 minutes before they got there, "We'll be there in 30 minutes, maybe less."

"_Give us a call when you get there._"

"What's the plan?"

There was a brief pause and Fugaku answered, "_I've already sent Anko, Genma, Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru. We'll first scout the area and then strategize from there._"

Keeping his eyes on the road, Asuma piped up, "So, we won't actually meet up with this Tenten person until after we've scoped the area?"

"_No, Ibiki, Genma, Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru will be meeting up with Tenten immediately. You, Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke and myself will stay hidden until we've secured the area._"

"Okay, got it." Kakashi pushed 'end' and put his phone away.

Groaning, Kakashi muttered out, "I won't make it in time for dinner… or cuddle time… or bedtime… Iruka's going to lock me out of the bedroom, and I'm going to have to sleep on the couch... again..."

"I'm sure he'll come around."

They continued the rest of their journey in silence with the occasional moan and groan from Kakashi.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto was doing that annoying thing where he doesn't want to say anything, but he's bursting at the seams to say it. His bright blue eyes were flickering between a necklace and Sasuke, staying longer on him.<em>

_It was nearing the end of their eighth year and they would soon be moving on to high school. Things had been extremely rocky between them, but they had finally overcome the hurdle that was tripping them over._

_Or at least, Sasuke had finally overcome the hurdle that was damaging his friendship with Naruto._

_The asshole had pushed a button too hard, and Sasuke was finally given the chance to pummel him to the ground. When Kyuubi was painted red, black and blue to his satisfaction, Sasuke just left his piece-of-shit ass in the woods. After years of back-talk, backstabbing, miscommunication, threats, blackmail, and physical violence, Kyuubi had finally been put to rest._

_It had been nearly a week since he had seen hide or hair of Kyuubi, and it was going to stay like that. To celebrate this victory, Sasuke had called Naruto and demanded that they hang out at the mall and spend some time together._

_"..."_

_"Well?"_

_"'Well,' what?"_

_His blond friend merely raised a brow at him and gestured at the necklace again, "Well, what do you think?"_

_"It's nice."_

_"That's not what I wanted to hear! I want to know what you honestly think about it! Stop giving me nonsense!" Naruto screeched as he cutely scrunched up his face._

_"Oh my god- Naruto, it's a freaking necklace! You're asking me about my opinion on jewelry! Why should I care?"_

_They were making a scene and the clerk was slowly making her way over to them. Customers were leaving a wide berth between themselves and the pair. Inwardly, Sasuke was grinning from ear to ear. _

_Naruto just crossed his arms and gave a huff, "Well, I just wanted to get you a graduation present!"_

_Sasuke deadpanned, "I don't want a store bought present."_

_"You're fucking impossible! What are we doing here, if not to buy presents!"_

_"Naruto, we're at a mall because I couldn't think of anywhere else we could hang out. Also, it's the closest thing to Mizuki's dojo, so I figured it would be easier for Mizuki to pick us up when he's done with work."_

_At the mention of Mizuki, Naruto's shoulders sagged and his eyes became downcast. Alarmed at this drastic change in demeanor, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him away from the jewelry counter for some privacy._

_They walked over to a desolate children's clothing section and Naruto took a deep breath, a red flag that had Sasuke scrambling. It had been a _long_ time since he had actually talked to Naruto. The last time they had talked, things were getting extremely weird and difficult between Mizuki and Naruto._

_There were many rumors going about, but the main one was Mizuki's relapse with drugs._

_"Hey, you alright? I mean, it's been awhile, and things got really bad between us, so I didn't talk to you as much and Kyuubi wasn't helping either. Then things got really busy in my family and I know it's no excuse-" A hand planted itself firmly on his mouth, silencing him._

_"You're rambling. Chill, things are okay between us." A dazzling smile was aimed at him, and Sasuke was left without a bone to hold himself together._

_Naruto continued on, completely oblivious to the blow he just struck, "Mizuki's been really stressed out. I hardly see him now-a-days."_

_No one said anything as Naruto stared dispassionately at a nearby clothes rack. Feeling off, Sasuke did his best to bring his friend out of the weird funk._

_"I doubt those clothes would fit you." _

_Naruto chuckled out, "Well duh, I'm too-"_

_"You're a fucking midget, it's a miracle shoe stores carry your shoe size."_

_"I am not short! Take that back, asshole!"_

* * *

><p><em>It was closing time at the mall and people were being ushered out. Sasuke and Naruto had just sat down on a bench, taking a breather after the hours of aimless walking they had just done. Naruto poked his side, laughing stupidly when Sasuke glared at him.<em>

_"Give me your cell, I'm gonna call Mizuki."_

_Without hesitation Sasuke pulled out his cellphone and handed it to Naruto, having a good laugh at Naruto's expense when the boy just stared at the screen. Taking pity on the boy, Sasuke brought out the dialing menu with the numbers and handed it back to Naruto._

_Naruto glared at him before calling Mizuki, "Hey, Mizuki, do you think you could pick up Sasuke and me from the mall?"_

_There was a brief moment of silence and Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "Why can't you pick us up?"_

_More silence and then, "No! I'm not calling someone else; you said you could pick me up. Why can't you pick us up? Is there a fight or something? Why do I hear so much noise?"_

_Sasuke heard a shout from the phone and watched Naruto grimace as he held the phone to his ear, "What do you mean you're not gonna be home tonight? I don't have a key to the house!"_

_Naruto pulled the phone from his ear and turned to Sasuke, "Mizuki just hung up on me..."_

_The blond looked so crestfallen; Sasuke didn't even hesitate as he pulled Naruto into his arms. Silently, Naruto handed him back his phone and looked away from him. _

_"We can have a sleepover. My parents won't mind."_

_Naruto just nodded his head numbly._

_"Has Mizuki been like this all this time?"_

_"He has his good days and he has his bad. It was gettin' good for a while, but something snapped and now things are always on thin ice between us. Actually, it's all him. I've done my best to be good, and I try to be there for him, but he's just really bad right now."_

_Turning to get a better look at Naruto, Sasuke asked, "What do you mean 'he's just really bad right now'? What's he doing?"_

_Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable, but answered him anyway, "He'll get really strict some days and he'll ground me for weeks for something as stupid as being too loud. Other days, he'll just ignore me and not care about what I'm up too. Every now and then, things will be okay and like they used to be... but that only lasts for about an hour or so."_

_"Naruto... He's not doing drugs, is he?"_

_In an instant, Naruto got up from the bench and whispered fiercely, "Don't you dare say something so stupid. Mizuki would never go back to that."_

_Taking a deep breath, Sasuke proceeded carefully, "But that would explain things."_

_"It's something else!" Naruto shouted to him._

_"Then what! What else is getting this kind of behavior from Mizuki?"_

_The blond visibly deflated, and he looked so lost as he said, "I don't know."_

* * *

><p>Hearing a tire screech snapped Sasuke from the recesses of his mind, he watched with increasing horror as Ibiki swerved the car into the woods and proceeded to making a trail through the foliage. Although Ibiki hadn't flipped the car on its side and no one was hurt, the stunt managed to scare the absolute shit out of his father and himself.<p>

These were the times Sasuke wished he was a normal teenager.

"Ibiki! What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke screeched.

Fugaku did his best to ignore the bumps while attempting to explain, "Calm down, Sasuke. We can't just leave an empty car on the side of the road, and we don't want to use up seals trying to conceal it. We're hiding the car somewhere it won't be found, but close enough that we can make a get-away if need be."

When Ibiki finally deemed the spot hidden enough, they all got out and did their best to find materials that would help further conceal the car. Once that was done, Fugaku pulled out his cell and asked for the other group's location.

It was quiet enough that his father didn't even bother to put the phone on speaker, "_Don't worry, Ino's already found you. We're coming to you._"

"Where are you?"

"_We're parked just a mile down from the site._"

Fugaku raised a brow at this, "That's quite a distance."

There was some indecipherable screaming on the other line, before Anko came back on the phone, "_Yeah, well, genius Genma thought he could handle the woods. Turns out cars, indeed, cannot be parked in a muddy clearing._"

"You're car is stuck in the mud?"

"_One of the wheels is sunken... And it looks like the rest of the car is going to be dragged down if we just leave the car here._"

"Then pick it up, and move it somewhere else-"

**Crash!**

"Anko?"

"_I forgot to mention;_ _we've got company._" And then the line went dead.

Ibiki walked over to his father, "We need to find Tenten. Anko and Genma can handle it, or else they would have mentioned something earlier."

Fugaku wore a mask of indifference as he nodded his agreement before turning sharply to Sasuke, "I can't see through the fog, Sasuke. Can you see anything unusual in the forest?"

Activating his ability, Sasuke took a good look around him. The forest was swirling with its usual vibrant threads of color: greens, blues, yellows, browns, oranges, nothing stood out and he let his father know. His father simply nodded, before kneeling down to the ground and proceeding to write something on the forest floor.

Fugaku's face scrunched up as he concentrated and whispered something into the air. Leaves swirled around his kneeling frame and gathered near the ground where his open palm and writings lay. From the gathering leaves, a growl was heard and slitted silver eyes peeked through.

The leaves fell in a circle as Fugaku's summoned black cougar let out a roar and bolted up a tree that was a few feet away from them. The black cougar leapt onto a branch and sat on its hunches, staring at Fugaku expectantly.

A voice rang out from the distance, startling Sasuke, "Already getting started; I always admired that about you Uchihas."

The voice was coming from all sides, making it hard to tell its location and distance. If Sasuke had to make a guess, he was sure that the enemy was farther away than the voice sounded. The Akatsuki were cowards like that.

His father didn't pay the voice any attention; "Go get it," he ordered his cougar.

The cougar purred its compliance and leapt from its perch, not making a sound as it landed. The summoned beast raised its nose to the air and let out a growl that bounced through the forest shrubs. As the animal did its work, Fugaku turned to Sasuke and proceeded to give him firm instructions.

"I can't see through this fog, but you can, Ibiki and myself will go and find Tenten. Keep your Sharingan active. You may follow us, but the moment you sense something off, follow your instinct."

As soon as the words left his father's mouth, a small and thin silver thread flickered to life and curled itself around Sasuke's feet.

Stepping over the thread, Sasuke mumbled out, "What did we say about the next time Kakashi showed up late?"

"We'll tattle to Iruka." Ibiki chuckled.

The thread flickered on and off; beckoning Sasuke to hurry towards the direction it was crawling away to. Ibiki and his father were walking slowly, guarding each other's blind spots while following Fugaku's cougar. Sasuke followed the thread, walking in the opposite direction that the cougar was leading his father and Ibiki.

"Good luck." Fugaku shouted.

* * *

><p>Sasuke walked slowly after the light, not wanting to miss a single detail that might reveal the light's final location. The thread would flicker on and off, but its light was bright enough that it left small imprints of itself in Sasuke's retinas; he persevered through the difficult forest foliage.<p>

Burrs stuck to his clothes, branches smacked him in the face, and thorns did their best to pierce him, but Sasuke simply ignored these things in favor of following the thread. This continued on for a while, but the thread's light finally flickered off and stayed out.

Wondering if this was indeed the location the thread was leading him to, Sasuke waited a few more minutes. When the thread's light did not come back, Sasuke took that as his cue to explore the area he had been led to.

The first thing he noticed were the sounds of creek life. The noises of frogs and splashing waters weren't what threw Sasuke off, though. It was the familiarity of the sounds. Almost like he had been to this place once before... Feeling his arms begin to shake, Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and walked over to the creek. He closed his eyes and paid close attention to the sounds.

There was a gentle, barely-there breeze that was coursing through the area, carrying with it the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. These were the same sounds he had heard just before he opened the door in his dream.

Opening his eyes again, Sasuke took a closer look at the creek he was standing in front of. Nothing seemed amiss with it. The creek was crystal clear, allowing a perfect view of the fish, stones and man staring wide-eyed back at Sasuke.

Before Sasuke could even blink, the man simply grabbed Sasuke's ankle and pulled him into the creek.

Just as Sasuke hit the water's surface, more hands appeared from the depths of the creek and grabbed his arms and legs, pulling him even further into what he thought was a shallow creek. Sasuke struggled against his captors, but the hands simply wrapped tighter and pulled him down faster. Soon, the surface was nothing more than a sparkling dark sky.

He didn't have the strength to struggle, but, for some reason, he didn't feel the need to panic. Despite the fact that he hadn't taken any breath before being dragged under, he had not yet run into any problems with breathing. In fact, he was still breathing.

The arms loosened their hold and let go of Sasuke, letting him float the rest of the way down to the creek's bottom. Once Sasuke's feet touched the ground, the environment erupted and dissolved all around him. Sasuke knelt into a fetal position on the ground, covering his head with his hands as best he could, while keeping his lids shut to protect his eyes.

From his side, a voice gently whispered to him, "Sasuke, you need to see this. I don't think I have a lot of time left, so please watch carefully. I'll explain what I can, but you need to remember: this is just a memory of mine that I've been given the opportunity to show you."

The familiarity of the voice was so unexpected; Sasuke froze on the morphing ground. A hand gently grabbed his shoulder, forcing Sasuke to stand up and open his lids to stare at a man- no, ghost, because there was no way...

There was no way Mizuki could possibly be next to him.

"I know it's been a while. I would have come to someone sooner, had I the strength to do so." A smile and the image instantly brought Sasuke back to a time he had done his best to bury.

Stuttering, Sasuke pathetically called out, "Mi- Mizuki?"

"I wish I had more time, but your family and friends need you right now, so I need to be quick."

Sasuke was in a daze as rage began to color his vision and cloud his mind. Mizuki was still talking, but Sasuke couldn't hear a word over the typhoon of noise that was rushing through his mind. The color drained from Mizuki's face as a wire wrapped itself around his neck.

"What are you doi-" Mizuki's eyes widened as the wire cut off his wind pipe.

"Why aren't you burning? You look fine; **why do you look fine?**" Sasuke screamed.

Grabbing the wires firmly, Sasuke gave a tight tug and watched with some glee as Mizuki fumbled face-first into the still morphing ground. The grey haired man grabbed at his neck, doing his best to unwrap the wires from around his neck.

Sasuke was having none of that.

The wire cut into his palms as he pulled the wire around Mizuki's neck tighter and tighter, till there was a clear linear indent all around Mizuki's neck. The man was desperately tearing at the wires, his eyes red and watery, and his lips turning a slight blue. Then, without much prelude, Mizuki fell and sank into dirty concrete ground.

The concrete ground enveloped Mizuki's whole body, taking with it Sasuke's wire. Sasuke felt his blood drip slowly from his palms as he let his arms swing to his sides. He could only stare at the ground as it reshaped itself, appearing as if nothing unusual had just happened.

Loathing and impatience filled his being to the brink of bursting; his breathing was too harsh for his lungs and his knees felt weak. With the disappearance of Mizuki, silence reigned over the area and Sasuke couldn't have been any more thankful for the brief respite. He lowered himself to the concrete ground and placed his head on top of the folds of his arms.

Taking several shallow breaths, Sasuke tried to control his heart as it tried to beat its way outside of his chest. This direct and painful step into the past was more than Sasuke could take; _I need to get out of here._ Calming himself down a bit, he lifted his head from his arms and took a better look at his surroundings.

The environment had finally settled; it was no longer the bottom of a creek. Instead of muddy dirt and sand, Sasuke was standing on solid, dirty and cracked concrete ground. Taking a deep breath of the air proved to Sasuke that the area was poorly taken care of; it reeked of rotted foods and cigarette smoke.

It was dark and desolate with a single street light hanging over the area. With just that single light, it was too dark to make out anything in the area except that it appeared to be an alley. Sasuke got up from the ground and attempted to further explore the area before shouts from his left distracted him.

"Get him in the neck! It'll travel faster to his brain that way!"

"He's getting loose!"

Although he was already surrounded by shadows, he didn't want to risk being seen. Crouching, Sasuke slowly and silently made his way over to the noise. Before he could even take ten steps, though, a hand grabbed his shoulder and kept Sasuke in place.

Someone chuckled into his ear and whispered, "You don't have to be so careful here. These events have already taken place; these are the memories I have time to show you."

Turning his head to the right, Sasuke found himself staring straight into the brown eyes of Mizuki.

Mizuki simply nodded his head in the direction that the noise was coming from and let go of Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke watched warily as Mizuki walked over to the noise and casually leaned against a wall, his back to Sasuke. The shouts were getting louder.

"Grab his _goddamn_ _legs!_

_"_You little _shit_!"

No matter how much he educated himself, no matter how much knowledge he had acquired, life continued to leave him feeling stupid. Having no other option or idea as to what to do, Sasuke made his way over to Mizuki.

The area in the alley was dark, but light was shooting out past the direction that Mizuki was facing. Once Sasuke reached Mizuki, he figured out where the source of light was coming from. Sasuke marveled at the little orbs of light that bobbed up and down as they illuminated a black van and a group of people that were gathered outside of its opened back door.

This wasn't just any suspicious event that was going down; this was an event that specifically dealt with the Clans. Putting two and two together, Sasuke took a good look at the man staring forlornly at the van.

"Kisame! _DO SOMETHING!_" Someone shouted from inside of the van.

The driver side door opened with a bang as it collided with the side of the building and a figure got out. The big and broad shouldered man stomped his way over to the back of the van, grumbling something. The group scuttled away from the van and pressed themselves together till only one person remained.

Something from inside of the van caught Sasuke's eye and he couldn't control his instinct to duck as that something leaped out of the van and towards him. When nothing hit him, he looked up from his crouched position and let out a gasp.

Orange and black stripes decorated the face and arms of a struggling Mizuki.

Sasuke turned around to try and locate the Mizuki that had just been by his side not two seconds ago, only to realize that he was indeed alone. Looking back to the striped Mizuki, Sasuke let his eyes wander to the thin watery tendrils that were snaking their way around Mizuki's body.

_Okay Mizuki, I'm listening._


	8. With The Moon I Run

**Blame Game- Kanye West ft John Legend (KyuNaru theme song) **

**Pyro, Closer- Kings of Leon**

**I Follow Rivers, Get Some- Lykke Li**

**Only the Horses- Scissor Sisters**

**A/N: If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask them! PM me or review and let me know if something wasn't clear; I'll do my best to explain without spoiling too much! Also, I watch a LOT of Asian horror/suspense/action movies that don't explain **_**anything**_** up until the last 30 minutes of the movie… I'm not saying that that's how this fic is going to turn out, but just be prepared for things to be explained to you in a slow and steady- OH GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED kind of way.**

**You can thank my BETA Cannibal Incorporated for helping me with this fic! My BETA is _awesome_!**

**READ & REVIEW!**

* * *

><p>It was early Thursday morning by the time they arrived at the new location. The sun wasn't out yet and the entire area was covered by a thick fog, giving the mansion a creepy atmosphere. From what Naruto could make out, he knew that this place would be just as isolated from society as the last mansion had been.<p>

Thinking that he was just exaggerating, he looked around the area in the hopes of proving his theory wrong. A breeze swept through the area and he listened closely for signs of other life in the forest. When all he heard were the scuttles of animals, Naruto resigned himself to the crushing force called isolation.

Surrounded by trees and forest shrubs as far as the eye could see, Naruto knew that things would be no different at this place. He didn't want to think about the new mansion; his updated home and cage. Instead, he focused on the positive side of things. Like the success of the move-out.

Not only had Naruto and Kyu been able to avoid certain catastrophe with the law, but they had also been able to do so with as little blood as possible. It had taken them approximately four hours to get to their new location, but that was because the roads to the new hideout were still under construction. Although it was night time and everyone was tired, one thing was for sure; everything had gone according to plan, and there was nothing to fear.

If only things turned out this way all the time.

Naruto and Kyu had made sure that the mansion had exploded with as little fire to the surrounding area as possible. Everyone had been evacuated and the forest wouldn't suffer a huge lose of trees. The Private units already on the scene had been amply paid, and camera crews hadn't been alerted of the explosion till just two minutes ago. There were no pesky search/rescue teams sticking their noses everywhere.

Although the whole mansion was in an uproar of blurry bodies and moving furniture, it was quiet and still in his room. Everything had been unpacked and neatly put away in their appropriate place. Naruto took a shuddering breath as he walked over to the left side of his bed and proceeded to dismantle the iron headboard. He had to be quiet or else the guards would hear him and get suspicious, but, most importantly, he had to be fast.

Nagato had called, demanding that Kyu and Naruto be present for the next Akatsuki meeting.

At first, Kyu had barked and raved against having Naruto attend the meeting, telling his uncle that just one of them would be enough. When that argument fell through, Kyu had argued that Naruto wouldn't know what to do or how to go about a meeting. Nagato simply told Kyu to simper to someone who cared.

Nagato had gone all-out with this next meeting and would not be made a fool. He had called out to far-away Akatsuki members and accepted no excuse for an absence. Once Kyu heard this, he backed off and immediately set the mansion to working on over-drive.

All members of the Akatsuki would be here in less than 6 hours.

Naruto did his best to work with his shaking hands, unscrewing all of the bars on the iron headboard. Once he removed the last bar, he slowly placed it next to the other bars and took a quick glance at the door. The knob was still.

Taking that as a good sign, Naruto went to work removing the top bar that had held all of the other bars in place. It was twice his length and weighed about 20 pounds, but he managed to completely uncork it from the headboard without much trouble. He held it delicately with his left hand and shoulder while walking over to the fireplace.

He gave a small grunt of discomfort as he laid the bar to rest on the floor in front of the fireplace. Naruto checked the door for any signs that he had been heard, but when the knob remained immobile, he took that as his cue to continue.

To the hurried and frenzied eyes of movers, this iron headboard had just been another item that needed to be removed from the premises. But to Naruto, a desperate and clever boy with too much time on his hands, it had been the ultimate tool in helping him hide his treasures and keep documents safe.

This time, though, instead of papers and trinkets being hidden inside stealthily, there would be dry bay leaves and crumbled up white chrysanthemums, along with a mixture of other herbs. Naruto grabbed the end of the bar and slowly unscrewed one of the caps off, tipping the bar so that its contents would come out faster. A small dust cloud formed around the pile of bay leaves and white chrysanthemums. Naruto clamped his mouth shut as a sneeze attempted to destroy all of his hard work.

* * *

><p>2 months prior<p>

_Kyu had just departed this morning for his business trip and he would be gone for two days. Before Kyu had left, though, he had given out strict orders and prohibited Naruto from leaving the mansion. There would be no 'exploring' or 'adventuring,' lest the guards wanted to die a slow and painful death._

_Nothing was being left to chance. The number of guards around and outside the mansion had been doubled and the traps had been quadrupled. A curfew had been issued, and all, aside from the guards, who were not in bed would be dealt with properly._

_As if things of this nature had ever stopped Naruto._

_Naruto plucked a single strand of hair from his head with his left hand, while he bit his right thumb hard enough to produce blood. Before the wound could close up, Naruto wrote his name on a blank piece of paper and stuck the hair follicle dead center of the paper. With practiced ease, he folded the paper till it was a tiny square._

_Satisfied, Naruto grabbed the glass of water that he had taken with him to his room before curfew and dropped the paper square into the glass. He waited for a few minutes, allowing the paper to completely soak through, before moving on to the next step._

_Grabbing a small vial that he had hidden within the spaces behind drawers, Naruto uncorked the vial and quickly poured out its contents into the glass. With admirable determination, Naruto tried not to think about all the tears that he had had to shed in order to produce all of the little vials that were hidden inside the drawer._

_The full moon illuminated the entire room, giving him a perfect view of the glass. By now, the square was shaking in its container and had fogged up the water with little paper bits. He had to be quick if he wanted to get this right. Stealthily, Naruto grabbed the glass and walked over to his bedroom window in order to complete the spell. _

_Carefully, Naruto dumped out everything that was in the glass and watched with bated breath as the little square trembled and bounced on the rug. Once it bounced up to his height, Naruto plucked it from the air. Holding it with cupped hands he blew at the square gently, but steadily. _

_The square crumpled to dust in his hands and Naruto threw the dust into the air. The particles gently circled above him, but after a minute broke apart and gathered to the ground again. The dust formed into small indecipherable clumps, before gathering into larger and easily recognizable parts of the human anatomy._

_It wasn't long before the dust formed a perfect replica of Naruto._

"_Hello." The dust greeted him quietly._

_Not wanting to waste time with pleasantries, Naruto cut to the chase, "I need you to be Naruto for a day."_

_The clone nodded its affirmative and asked, "Is there anything that I should be worried about?"_

"_Kyu's gone for the whole day, so you don't have to worry about him going apeshit… There are a ton of guards, though, but they're stupid small fry, so you should be good. Don't try to go out and explore, the guards'll be on you like ants in a picnic."_

_The clone Naruto took a look at the real Naruto and pointed to his clothes, asking "Where are you going?"_

"_I need to go to the forest to collect some things for a protection spell."_

"_Why do you need a protection spell?"_

"_It doesn't hurt to be prepared. So, while Kyu's gone, I might as well gather everything. Okay, same drill as usual: Open up the window once you start to feel yourself crumble."_

_The clone nodded and watched the real Naruto walk past him to open the window in the room, allowing a cold breeze into the room. Clone Naruto took one look at the real Naruto and was quick to stop him from making a stupid mistake. The real Naruto was wearing black shorts, brown ankle high boots and a long sleeved camouflage shirt; not enough to protect against the April chill!_

_Before the real Naruto could climb down the window, clone Naruto ran off to the drawers and pulled out a thick sweater. Shoving the sweater onto the real Naruto, clone Naruto wished him luck and watched with excitement as the real Naruto escaped through the window._

_Climbing down the wall wasn't a problem for an avid rock climber such as himself; it was walking through the lawn that posed the biggest challenge. The smartest people in their chem labs had 'gladly' accepted Kyu's request and set out to complete the task set out by Kyu. Naruto hadn't been anywhere near the mansion when the booby-traps had been set up._

_Time to put his new skills to the test._

_Once Naruto's boots made contact with the soft grass, his senses were put on full alert. He took a deep breath and absorbed the atmosphere around him. The overwhelming scent of gunpowder and gasoline made him dizzy, and he lowered himself to the ground. _Landmines? I see how it is…

_Digging both hands deep into the ground, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the slightest vibrations he felt in the roots that clung to the dirt. Wiggling his hands deeper into the earth, the landmines were soon perfectly mapped out for him to see._

Six to the left, two in front of me, and three to my right; that's not too bad…_Naruto pulled his hands out of the dirt and stood up. _But there's more, isn't there?

_Naruto took a deep breath of the chilly April air and blew out a hot breeze that fogged up the whole area. Against the temporary white fog, criss-crossing thin wires made themselves crystal clear and proved Naruto's suspicions correct. _

Looks like they stuck them up six feet, and there's no way I'm walking through that…_ The fog cleared up, shadowing the wires once more. This didn't deter Naruto in the least and he tightened his grip on the duffel bag._

_Naruto summoned the air around him, wrapping it around his legs. Once he was satisfied with the amount he proceeded to force the current straight into the ground, resulting in his being propelled straight through the air. The action shot him up and past the mansion's roof._

_Clone Naruto waved 'bye' and closed the window._

_Standing upright in the air, the real Naruto couldn't stop grinning. _I can't believe that worked,_ he thought nervously. Getting a better grip on the duffel bag he took more steps forward, giggling with glee when he continued moving forward. He made it past the wires and bombs without any trouble. Not wanting to risk setting off any traps, he kept to the air._

_It was colder above the trees, but Naruto ignored the drop in temperature. He walked over tree tops with ease, the leaves and branches of the trees bending slightly as the air current around his legs touched them. __The full moon continued to provide for him, its bright light shinning down and illuminating the entire area, making his journey all the more easy. He could cover twice the distance in half the time this way._

_His little garden was a-ways away from the mansion, but thanks to the moon and success of his spell, Naruto had faith that he could make it in time. Ignoring the temperature, Naruto forced more power into the air current around his legs and kept a steady pace towards the southern part of the forest._

_The stars were an amazing distraction. Not only did they help him with navigation, but they gave him a wonderful view. Content with the distance he had put between himself and the mansion, he looked for an opening in the tree tops._

_Walking over to his exit, he forced the summoned air around his legs to die down. The branches poked and prodded at him, but he ignored them in favor of concentrating on not falling to his death. Shakily, Naruto lowered himself to the ground without too much trouble._

_The air around his legs completely dispersed once his feet touched the ground. Naruto leaned heavily against a tree while he tried to recuperate from the chilly air. He shoved his hands into his armpits and blew out a warm breeze around himself._

_Feeling a bit woozy, he lowered himself to the ground and curled up to a ball, laying his head down on the duffel bag. Some heat returned to his arms and legs, but his core was still too cold. Breathing slowly, and with nothing better to do while he recovered, Naruto went through the list of things he needed to get. _

Maple tree roots, bay leaves, white chrysanthemums, some ferns, fennel and thyme. I think I have all of that in the garden somewhere…_Chuckling to himself, Naruto wondered how out of hand the garden must have grown. It had been over a month since the last time he had gone out to tend to the little secret garden he kept away from everyone else._

_It's not like he couldn't find someone to care for the garden for him, that wasn't the problem. The problem was Kyu. As much as he would love to have someone tend the garden for him, Naruto knew that Kyu would find some way of poisoning his little treasure. And the red head has several good reasons as to want to destroy the garden._

_For one thing, the little garden possessed more than enough ammunition to take care of every single guard on the Akatsuki payroll. Not only that, but the garden also allowed him to practice and explore different areas of talents that Kyu would have no defense against._

_Kyu would fucking kill him if he ever found out about the secrets weapons Naruto kept to himself._

_Not that Naruto was planning on using the garden against Kyu. It was just a nice little reassurance to know that the red head wasn't all indestructible; that there were still things that __could take down that mass of destruction called Kyu._

_If Kyu ever found out about the little garden, he would probably set it all on fire… _And like an idiot, I'll just stand there and watch it burn_, Naruto thought bitterly. Of course Naruto would defend his little piece of paradise, but not at the price of hurting someone._

**Even though they hurt you?** _A little voice whispered deceptively._

_Naruto did his best to ignore the little voice. It only ever tried to ruin him._

_Feeling his core was back to its normal temperature; Naruto got up from the forest floor and took at look at his surroundings. Beneath the trees, light was scarce and the area appeared much more challenging than it actually was._

_Lazily, Naruto dug into his duffel bag and pulled out a small silver lighter that was heavily engraved with symbols. Flicking it open, he sparked the little mechanism until a tiny flame came to life. Whispering words of encouragement, Naruto carefully plucked the little flame between his thumb and forefinger._

_The flame didn't burn his fingertips, a thought that made Naruto smile proudly. Humming a gentle melody, Naruto watched the tiny flame between his fingers expand into a little ball of light. He continued humming, allowing the flame to grow bigger and bigger till it was about the size of his head._

_He let go of the flame, watching it closely as it floated above his head. When it looked like the flame was going to fly away from him, Naruto commanded, "By my side!"_

_Immediately, the flame floated back to his side. Satisfied with the flame's obedience, Naruto looked back to the forest area and noted that the forest no longer looked difficult to cross. The light coming from the flame did a fantastic job of spotlighting whatever was in front of Naruto._

_Spinning left and right, Naruto soon came to a very obvious conclusion._

"_Alright…" Naruto said out loud, "I have no idea where I am!"_

But that's alright, because I have my bread crumbs!

_Naruto went back to his duffel bag, searching through the pockets till he pulled out a small seed. Gathering energy to his fingertips, Naruto frantically dug his hands elbows deep into the dirt._

_As soon as his energy concentrated fingers had touched the seed, stems and roots shot out of the little seed. The seed continued to grow at a rate that Naruto always found hard to control, leading to him frantically dig through the dirt._

_The dirt was dry and hard to dig through, but he ignored it in favor of planting the little seed with as much energy as possible. Luckily, the seed-turned-plant continued to grow beneath the dirt it was shoved into. Stems and leaves exploded gently from under the ground, a sight that left Naruto feeling giddy._

_Gently, Naruto poked at the little green leaves and checked the stems width. The plant was still growing, only now it was growing in numbers instead of length. Happy with the state of the plant, Naruto gathered energy to his pointer finger and touched the growing vegetation.  
><em>

"_Where is your mother?" Naruto asked the plant gently.  
><em>

_Immediately, plants sprung out sporadically from in front of Naruto and towards his right. The plants continued to spring out from the ground for as far as his eyes could see. Grinning, Naruto grabbed his duffel bag and booked it, following the trail the plants were making.  
><em>

_The flame followed Naruto, perfectly spotlighting the trail.  
><em>

_Naruto summoned air to his feet, increasing his speed and barely touching the ground. Feeling free and without the fear of getting caught, Naruto allowed himself to have a good laugh. He was running with the wind, and no one would be able to slow him down.  
><em>

_He kept a sharp eye in the direction the plants were leading him, feeling even better about his escape once he was able to recognize some of the trees. Soon enough, the plants stopped growing and Naruto dispersed the air, crash landing to the ground.  
><em>

"_Owww! Why'd I do that?" He asked to no one in particular.  
><em>

_With as much dignity as he could muster, Naruto got up from the ground, brushing off dirt and leaves from his shorts and sweater. The flame continued to diligently follow him, floating high above him while illuminating the area.  
><em>

_A biting breeze swept through the area, ruffling his hair and blowing leaves into his face. _Actually, this is just what I needed_,__he thought cheerily. Naruto gave a long sharp whistle, watching with glee as the breeze increased in force._

_The force with which the breeze was blowing only managed to pick up loose dirt and leaves. Not nearly enough to do the job Naruto needed to get done. He planted his feet firmly and raised his arms above his head, giving a loud shout, "Arise!"_

_He concentrated on the breeze and gave it the energy it would need in order to pick up the entire area. The breeze collected together into a mini tornado, picking up anything in its path. Sparks flew, but he continued to feed the tornado more energy till he felt dizzy again._

_Naruto squinted in the hopes of protecting his eyes against the onslaught of debris. Dirt flew all around him, sometimes even smacking against him violently. The tornado only circled him once, but it was more than enough to get the job done. Naruto put his arms down and pulled back some of the energy he had given the wind._

_The tornado was to his far left when it died, piling up all of the dirt it had managed to lift from the ground. Where there was once an area covered with dirt and leaves, now there was only loose floorboard. Getting down to his knees Naruto pulled out a couple of the floorboards, piling them to his left._

_Once he had removed enough of the floorboards to create a hole, he stopped to take a breath, "This is a lot harder than the last time."_

_He wiped the sweat from his brow and went back to work. Naruto called the flame to his hand and gently coaxed it to a smaller size. The flame shrank down to the size of a golf ball and floated by his side lazily before Naruto put it to work._

_"Well, don't just float around like a ditz; give me some light down there," he scoffed._

_The flame obeyed, rushing past him and diving into the hole, leaving Naruto to fend for himself against the darkness. Just as Naruto was about to jump into the hole, something came into his mind and halted him._

Why do you need a protection spell?

_When the clone had asked him that, Naruto had choked and come up with a lame excuse. Truthfully, he was making a protection spell… But it wasn't for him. It was for the knowledge he was gathering._

_Kyu could read him like a book; there was no escaping the man. Eventually, Kyu would find out about the things Naruto was doing behind his back. Before that could happen, though, Naruto was preparing a spell that would allow him to hide the truth from Kyu and anyone else who had the ability to reach into his mind._

_Naruto had been able to depend on Kyu for a lot of things during his first year with the Akatsuki. The red head had protected him from the harsher and uglier side of the organization, but then Kyu couldn't continue to keep Naruto away. Nagato was becoming ruthless with his demands and stricter with his commands, accepting only the absolute best from all members. Naruto included._

_Nagato knew some of Naruto's abilities included manipulating people into always cooperating, and he used that ability to his advantage. He forced Naruto to start attending social gatherings and bring along people who had large enough pockets to support the organization. Then Nagato demanded that Naruto open doorways to help members of the Akatsuki travel faster._

_All of these things were easy to do and didn't strain Naruto in the least. It was during his second year that his abilities began to head in a direction no one saw coming. The day he had accidentally opened the door to the Third Universe was a day Naruto wished he could take back._

_Once Nagato learned of this new ability, his demands became difficult and almost impossible to stomach. Kyu did his best to keep Naruto busy with other missions so that he was never around whenever Nagato came to the mansion, but Kyu could only do that for so long. As soon as Nagato figured out why Naruto was never around, a tension built between the nephew and uncle._

_Because of this strain, things were getting out of hand with Kyu and his Uncle. Although they had never really gotten along, tensions were finally starting to get to the point where Naruto had to step in to cool their heads. Sometimes, even Naruto couldn't break down the atmosphere to tolerable levels._

_Just the other day, Kyu and his Uncle had gotten into a fight that ended with the collapse of a building and part of the forest. The only reason they had stopped fighting was because half of the members of the Akatsuki had banded together, along with Naruto, to stop Kyu and Nagato._

_And that had been over something as silly as the color for the new 'company' cars!_

**Just imagine what those two would do if they ever found out about what you were doing behind their backs.**

_Naruto smirked grimly and thought, _That's why I'm doing this.

_Without further preamble, he wished himself luck and closed his eyes, jumping through the floorboards. He landed on his feet without incident._

_The little flame was putzing around without direction, randomly lighting little areas of the secret garden. Overgrown roots, leaves, branches, and different colored flowers were glimpsed thanks to the bobbing flame. Taking a long whiff of the air almost brought Naruto to his knees._

It's been way too long…_ Naruto dropped the duffel bag and walked after the little flame, watching it nervously as the flame got too close to a couple of crisp leaves._

"_Hey! You're awesome, but please don't set this place on fire!"_

_Not wanting to risk anything, Naruto reached out and plucked the flame with his pointer finger and thumb. The flame was warm and comfortable, not scorching or burning like the previous times he had tried doing this. He thanked the flame for its hard work before gently snuffing it out._

_It was completely dark, but Naruto wasn't afraid. Crouching down to the ground, Naruto sent gentle pulses of energy through the dirt. Sluggishly, little light bulbs came to life and gave enough glow to chase away the darkness._

_There were bulbs scattered across the ground and hanging from the crumbling walls of the garden; some of the bulbs were even hanging from the floorboard ceiling. Naruto took off his boots and socks, proceeding to walk through the garden barefoot. He continued to send out little pulses of energy, feeding the light bulbs the necessary juice._

"_I need:_ _maple tree roots, bay leaves, white chrysanthemums, some ferns, fennel and thyme."_

_The white chrysanthemums weren't hard to find. Sitting down next to the flowers, Naruto proceeded to pluck the petals. Once he thought he had acquired enough petals, he whispered to them every piece of knowledge he wanted to store away._

_The petals dried up in his hands as he passed on to them every single thing he could think of that he wanted to keep secret. As soon as he ran out of things to say, he set down the last petal and went to retrieve a container from the duffel bag._

_It was still on the ground from where Naruto had last set it down. Digging through the bag, Naruto produced a thin, metal cylindrical container that was heavily etched with seals. He walked back over to the pile of dried up chrysanthemums, humming a soft tune to the container._

_The seals lit up briefly, before dying down. A small 'pop' was heard from the cylinder and the container opened up from the top. Naruto gathered the petals into the container, picking up every crisp one that he had used, and set the container down a few feet away from him._

"_Just stay right there. I need to grind up some ferns, fennel and thyme."_

_A few meters to his left was the dubbed 'herbs' section of the garden. It wasn't hard to collect the thyme, fennel and ferns; the problem was the fact that they had overgrown to heights he couldn't reach. Damn them for being so high up and him being so freaking… short._

_Once he had a handful of each herb, Naruto ran back to the duffel bag to grab his grinder and stone. Naruto quickly breathed into the herbs, watching them carefully as they crinkled and dried out. He set the herbs to the ground beside him and delicately pulled out the grinder and stone._

_The grinder and stone were made entirely out of pure white marble and weighed about ten pounds. They were his favorite part of any spell. Grabbing the herbs, Naruto crushed them in his hands and sprinkled them into the grinder. For a moment, nothing happened and Naruto feared that the full moon was no longer up in the sky._

_But then a strong gust of wind knocked him down and to the ground._

_Naruto looked on as the wind gathered around the grinder and picked up the mixture of herbs he had started to concoct. The wind sliced the herbs down to little bits and pieces, and continued to do so until the herbs appeared to be nothing more than a fine powder. He got up from the ground and thanked the wind, before commanding it to stop._

_It took the wind a moment to fully comprehend his command, but it dropped the herbs back into the grinder and left him alone. Once the wind left, Naruto carefully made his way over to the grinder to inspect the fine powder that used to be herbs._

_Touching the powder, Naruto was more than pleased with the state of the mixture. He left the grinder where it was and walked over to get the cylinder. Curious, Naruto glanced above to check the time._

_Through the cracks in the ceiling, Naruto could make out a pinkish sky. Dawn was upon him._

_Unconvinced, he asked, "Damn, already?"_

_Picking up the cylinder, Naruto ran back to the grinder and hurriedly scooped up the powder into the cylinder. Once he filled the container up to the brim, he hummed the same tune from earlier and nearly dropped the container due to the loud 'pop' it made from closing itself._

_He was still feeding the light bulbs, but since the sun was coming out there was no longer a need to drain himself. Focusing on the soles of his feet, Naruto cut off the energy. Feeling a little bit stronger now that he wasn't being drained, Naruto set the cylinder down and went to look for the last two ingredients._

_He didn't have many roots coming into his garden, but spells only ever used less than half an ounce to get any job done, he wasn't worried. Walking over to the farthest corner of the garden, Naruto took a long whiff of the few roots that were crawling through the dirt wall. Something sweet entered his nose and Naruto immediately pulled at the thick root._

_An inch was all that he could pull out, but it would be more than enough. Putting the root into his left pocket, he ran back to the herbs and plucked as many bay leaves as he could find. Once he left that plant bare, he walked back to the cylinder with his supplies._

_Naruto grabbed the cylinder and put it on its side before showering the cylinder with bay leaves. He fixed the bay leaves into a neat little pile and placed the maple root right on top of the pile. Pulling out the lighter from earlier, Naruto turned on the lighter and lit the whole pile on fire._

_The smoke from the fire didn't stir with the air. Instead, the container's seals glowed a bright blue as it sucked in and absorbed the smoke from the fire. It was a quick fire, and it nearly consumed everything if Naruto hadn't quickly snatched a few bay leaves for himself._

"_Nope! I need some of these!"_

_Thinking it wise to give the container some time to cool, Naruto gave a loud yawn and laid down next to the cylinder. Facing the ceiling, Naruto noticed that the sun was now out and about. Its ray's were seeping through the cracks in the floorboard and warming everything in its path._

It's done_, he thought tiredly._

_Despite the fact that everything he was doing was for the best, he couldn't escape the niggling feeling of regret._

Why? I'm not doing this to get back at all the things that were done to me. I'm doing this to protect Kyu and to help us get out of here. As soon as we get out of here, things will be like they once were. Kyu won't be so bad, and I won't get used anymore.

_He told himself this monologue every time he did something behind Kyu's back. Sometimes it worked, but for the most part it was just another memorized speech he told himself to better sleep at night._

_If only Sasuke had just listened to him that night, then maybe, things wouldn't be so bad. At least Naruto wouldn't have had to move so far away._

_After he had been taken away from Mizuki, he thought things couldn't have possibly gotten worse. And when they did, Naruto could do nothing but take it. The first year he had spent away from his guardian had felt like a frozen hell. Nothing interested him, the scenery hurt to look at and the sun seemed to be mocking him every day it came out._

_Zuzu loved the sun._

_That first year was spent with Naruto staring at the window aimlessly and for several hours at a time. The caregivers, along with Kyu, were very vigilant. They dutifully kept him away from sharp objects and the medicine cabinet. Sleep was nearly impossible due to the nightmares he had of Mizuki being taken away from him- oh, wait._

_A bitter laugh escaped his lips._

_Undeterred by Naruto comatose state, Kyu had stayed by his side through that rough first year. The red hair was always the first thing Naruto saw in the morning and hazel eyes were the last thing he saw at night. Not once did Kyu raise his voice or hand against Naruto. Kyu was careful with him during that first year, treating him as though he were glass._

_Because truthfully, anything could set Naruto off into the dark abyss._

_Maybe that was why Naruto felt like he was betraying Kyu. Though things had changed significantly since that first year, Naruto still remembered the kind and gentle Kyu that had done his best to take care of Naruto. _**And what was Naruto doing to repay that compassionate red head?**

Oh, god, just stop already…

_But he couldn't stop. Not when he had already gotten this far and done this much. It was too late to turn back and pretend he wasn't doing this behind Kyu's back. Naruto couldn't just destroy the box of evidence; rip apart the photos and throw the documents into a muddy swamp._

_There were people that were counting on that box and need the evidence in order to make it through the year. He couldn't just ignore those people who were begging for a second chance. Lives were depending on Naruto._

_People like Lee and Gai, who were working so hard for that second chance. People like the Sabaku's, who needed a cure for their youngest sibling, Gaara. People like Yamato, who wanted to get on with his life. Naruto couldn't just ignore these people._

**But you can ignore the needs of the man who cared for you? You can turn your back on the boy you once loved! What makes these people worth more than the man who loves you! **_A voice screamed back at him._

_Naruto curled into a ball and waited for the voice to finish its rant._

**Kyu spent countless hours watching over you, moved moon and mountains just to get you to smile and has defended your life on more than one occasion! Things are really severe right now, but if you had only held out for a little bit more-**

THINGS WOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN BETTER!_ He screamed back, _NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED! IF ANYTHING, I WOULD PROBABLY BE EVEN MORE MISERABLE IF I JUST LEFT THEM AS THEY WERE!

_The voice didn't respond back._

_He was breathing heavily by the time the battle in his mind subsided. The screaming match in his head had left him feeling battered and sore. Getting up from the ground, he felt something wet trickle down his face, but Naruto brushed it off as sweat._

_Wanting to get over the assault as quickly as possible, he looked for the container. It was still on its side and only a few feet away from the duffel bag. He looked up at the ceiling to check the time and let out a small gasp at the heat radiating from the sun. It was high noon._

Time to bolt…

_Running over to the cylinder, he grabbed it, along with the grinder and stone, and threw them into the duffel bag. He clutched the duffel bag and looked up to the hole in the ceiling, feeling a twinge of fatigue at the thought of having to put everything away. Shaking off the fatigue, he summoned air to his legs and leapt through the hole._

_The sun nearly blinded him, but the warm rays against the chilly wind were pleasant enough that he forgave it. It was daytime and that meant he had to take very careful and very slow measures to ensure his secret garden was kept hidden. He placed the loose floorboards in their rightful place and hurriedly walked away from the 'clean-up' area._

_He blew a soft whistle and watched breeze after breeze move the pile of dirt across the floorboards. It was painstakingly slow, but it wouldn't be detected. Once the pile of dirt was gone and the area appeared to be just another barren part of the forest, Naruto ordered the wind to stop._

_It looked like the sun had moved significantly from last Naruto saw it. Not wanting to waste more time, Naruto shot up to the tree tops and held onto the duffel bag tightly. He did his best to ignore the whipping branches._

* * *

><p><em>As soon as the mansion came into sight, Naruto slowly lowered himself to the ground. Using as little wind as possible, he walked on the ground without actually touching the dirt. He wasn't sure who was scoping the forest, so he had to be very careful with what he came in contact with.<em>

_Whilst air-walking back to the mansion, Naruto called out to any breeze that was making its way through the mansion. The wind would do him the favor of eavesdropping onto any hints that would help him make his way back into the mansion. It wasn't even a minute before he was being bombarded with snipped conversations._

_From the sound of things, no hushed or high pitched tones, there was nothing to be worried about. It was safe to say that he hadn't been suspected of any treachery. A wide grin stretched across his face at this._

_He dug into his pockets for a bay leaf. Once he found said leaf, he blew on the dark green foliole till it turned a light green and was dry enough to crumble. Naruto took a long whiff of the remnants of the leaf. _

_Slowly, strength seeped into his bones and Naruto was thrumming with power. He was sure his eyes had turned a darker shade of blue because he had felt them dilate. The duffel bag was strapped around his waist twice to ensure nothing would be lost in the oncoming winds. The strength was only temporary, so he had to be fast with this next trick. The branches wouldn't stand a chance._

_Naruto rocketed up through the air till he couldn't feel his limbs. For a few seconds, everything stood still as he was literally floating amongst the clouds he had only ever dreamed of touching. Awestruck, Naruto reached out to touch one and almost had it._

_Then he was dropping to the ground head first._

_Prepared, Naruto angled his body in the direction of the mansion and tried to ignore the biting cold. The mansion's roof came closer and closer as Naruto continued to fall at such a fast rate. Falling to your death might have scared many, but not him. With the wind at his beck and call, Naruto knew better than to fear gravity._

_Just as he was half-a-mile away from the roof, the winds surrounded him and started slowing him down significantly. Flipping over, he righted himself and landed softly onto the edge of the roof. With the utmost care, Naruto tip-toed across the roof and tried to muffle his scoff. _They have the gall to landmine the lawn, but leave the roof completely defenseless? So lazy!

_He wasn't really complaining, though._

_The sun was quickly setting, meaning his clone was probably long gone at this point. Upon reaching the side his room was located, he hurriedly clambered down to his window. It had been left open as per his instructions._

_Climbing through the window, Naruto scanned the room for any guests. To his right were two maids who were giving him the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Oh well, at least they weren't guards._

_Before they could even give a shout, Naruto felt his eyes dilate till he was sure his pupil was completely covering the cornea. And when Naruto opened his mouth to speak, the servants made the foolish mistake to listen._

"_**Hey guys, what'cha up to?**__"_

_Entranced by his voice, the one with short black hair answered without hesitation, "We were waiting for you to come out of the bathroom. We have strict orders to watch you like a hawk."_

"_**Oh. Well, you didn't see me just come through the window; in fact, you've already forgotten! Now, give me a few minutes to hide this and make it look like I took a dump in the bathroom.**__"_

_The maids nodded their head dumbly, as Naruto ran over to his bed and shoved the duffel bag underneath it. Running over to the bathroom that was attached to his room, Naruto quickly located the clone's dusty remains._

_Not only did Naruto find the remains of his clone, but he was also able to figure out what clothes clone Naruto was wearing before he gave out. Shaking off the dust on the clothes, Naruto took off his own clothes and switched into his clone's clothes. _

_Naruto threw his clothes into the hamper, flushed the toilet and washed his hands on the faucet for a few minutes. He immediately turned off the lights in the bathroom before either of the two maids could get a good look at the sudden dust particles that were floating about in the restroom._

_The maids were dazed for a few seconds before realizing that their target was no longer in the bathroom, "Naruto! What took so long?" asked the other maid with long blonde hair._

_Naruto threw them his best baby face, knowing he had them in the palm of his hand once they both 'aww'ed._

"_Just had to fix a few things!"_

* * *

><p>With him at the center, Naruto arranged the mixture of herbs and petals into a circle. Pulling out a familiar silver engraved lighter, he turned it on and lit the spell on fire. Instantly, the circle was aflame. Smoke engulfed him and Naruto felt dizzy as he watched the flames devour the white chrysanthemums. Naruto took as many deep breaths of the smoke as he could.<p>

He had memorized this spell to the 'T' and was aware of the consequences, but reading a spell and actually performing it were always two different things. The spell had warned him about the body's reaction to an invasion of privacy, but Naruto had hoped that the spell was just exaggerating. _This had better be worth it…_

As he breathed the smoke into his lungs, a numbing chill began to settle into his bones and he felt his joints lock in-place. An impenetrable barricade began to go up in his mind. The more smoke he breathed in, the stronger the barricade felt in his mind. Despite the heat of the flames, Naruto's teeth chattered and his body shook as more petals burned away.

Bit by bit, Naruto felt the memories slip away from him and behind the barricade.

Feeling that the spell was successful, Naruto got up from the circle and quickly cleaned up. He kicked the smoldering circle into the fireplace and blew the rest of the smoke into the chimney. Knowing how suspicious smoke would look, coming from a non-lit fireplace, Naruto threw some wood in and started a fire.

As soon as that was done, he grabbed the loose part of the iron headboard and set to work putting it back together. Just as Naruto was done screwing in the last bar in his headboard, several honks were heard coming from outside. Naruto didn't bother to go to the window to see who it was that had arrived.

The door knob shook as a voice shouted, "Naruto?"

_Just in time,_ Naruto thought as a familiar red head burst through the door.

"Yes, Kyu?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Kyu stared at him with wide eyes, "I smelled smoke. You're not trying to destroy this place already, are you?"

"No! Why would you think that?"

Hurrying into the room, Kyu grabbed Narutos wrist and dragged him away from the bed, "Cause Satan and friend are here."

"They're all here, already?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Kyu continued to pull him whilst pushing them through scuttling maids, butlers, chemists, and guards. He threw over his shoulder, "Nope, just Hidan and Kakuzu!"

Naruto felt the blood drain from his face and he almost tripped over his feet, "Oh, no."

The hand gripping Naruto's wrist tightened, "They're okay once you-"

But Kyu didn't get to finish the sentence as a loose door knocked the red head down to the ground.

"This had better be something _important_!" Someone bellowed out.

Standing tall and proud at the broken doorway, a silver haired man pointed to the still form of Kyu. The man was barefoot, wore loose black pants and his shirtless form revealed several bleeding gashes. Never one to miss an opportunity to scare people, good old Hidan was getting a head start in leaving mental scars.

"If it isn't important, that door's going to be the least of your problems."

Naruto quickly tried to take control of the situation, "We didn't call the meeting. Nagato did."

Hidan didn't even spare him a glance; the man just took several steps into the lobby and grabbed a maid by the throat. From out of nowhere, Hidan pulled out a triple bladed scythe and held it to the girl's stomach. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what Hidan was about to attempt.

"Fuckin' hell, HIDAN!" he screamed.

A breeze knocked the maid out of Hidan's hand, and she lay on the floor unmoving. Naruto could tell from the puffs of air escaping her mouth that she was going to be fine, if a little shell-shocked. Hidan turned away from the girl to face Naruto, an angry scowl wrinkling his otherwise smooth face. Several brave butlers rushed to pick the girl up while Naruto provided a perfect distraction, and carried her away from the ensuing bloodbath.

"Why'd you do that?"

Feeling his pupilsexpand till they colored his irises completely, Naruto answered, "**Because the meeting hasn't started yet and w****e shouldn't do anything till Nagato gets here.**"

Hidan grumbled out, "But I need at least two pints of-"

Kyu was on top of Hidan before Naruto could even finish blinking.

"You. Are. An. Asshole. You know that, Hidan?" Kyu growled out, red energy seeping out of every pore in the red head's body.

The mounting tension was reaching static levels, triggering Naruto to start releasing small bursts of energy into the area in the hopes of better breaking it down. The polished hardwood floor beneath both men cracked and splintered at the amount of power that was pouring out of Kyu. Tiny flecks of the ruined floor began to float up in the air, and that was enough for Naruto.

At this rate, the mansion was going to be destroyed in a matter of minutes.

"**Stop it.**"

Forcing himself to calm down, Naruto forced his aura to completely overwhelm the situation. Something changed in the tense atmosphere as Naruto forced his aura to completely mingle with the tension in the room. Immediately, the red energy was sucked back into Kyu, and the flecks fell to the floor, raining down on Kyu and Hidan.

Feeling drained, Naruto fell face-first to the floor with a 'thud.'

Although he didn't have the energy to get up, Naruto was able to mumble out, "I am _not_ moving again. You can go fuck yourself Kyu."

A grunt was the red head's reply.

Hidan piped up, "Does this mean I have to wait?"

"Go to _hell_ Hidan!"

"That's why I pray at least thrice a day." Hidan shouted back.

Because Naruto was spent and facing away from the two men, he didn't sense anyone behind him until he was being picked up off the floor. The only logical choice as to who was picking him up was obvious. Familiar strong hands snaked around his back and Naruto soon found himself staring into hazel eyes as Kyu cradled Naruto gently.

With more care than necessary, the red head carried Naruto away from the lobby, dutifully ignoring the ranting and ravings of Hidan. Kyu walked slowly, careful not to jostle Naruto and potentially ignite a migraine. Naruto gave in and snuggled against Kyu's chest.

Kyu sighed, complaining, "I could have handled it, you know. I just needed a minute to remind Hidan of the house rules-"

"At the price of a brand new mansion? Kyu, even god would forgive me for killing you," Naruto scoffed.

Kyu just complained some more, "I would have paid for everything. I have the money for it."

Lazily, Naruto poked his chest and pouted, "That's not the point. The point is: we would have had to move everything again and I am _not_ going to do that."

"There are a lot of things you say you won't do, but I always get you to do them," Kyu whispered.

"I could say the same about you." Naruto shot back.

Wanting to get away from the conversation before it turned ugly, Naruto looked at his surroundings and wondered where they were going. From the looks of things, Kyu was making his way back to Naruto's room. The red head advanced up the staircase slowly and steadily, continuing to put so much effort in taking care of Naruto.

Neither were fooled by the kind actions of Kyu, though. Things were still unbalanced and out-of-touch between them since Naruto's last escape.

Kyu yawned loudly, "We're not going to do anything today. It's way too early in the morning for this kind of shit. The meeting's probably going to be postponed till tomorrow; I'm too tired to do anything today."

"What are the meetings like?" Naruto asked.

"All we ever do in the meetings is fight till we can't move our limbs. It's to demonstrate our powers and show Nagato that we're twice as powerful as everyone thinks we are."

They had finally reached Naruto's room. Setting Naruto down gently, Kyu opened the door and walked into the room, leaving Naruto to close the door after them. The red head had his back to Naruto and was walking away from him; a sight that always left Naruto feeling hollow.

Wanting to rid the hollowness, Naruto walked over to Kyu and turned him so that they were face-to-face. Standing this close to the hot tempered male was always a gamble. It was a very dangerous game that Naruto played whenever he got this close. Sometimes they clicked, and sometimes they erupted.

Naruto looked directly into Kyu's honey colored eyes and inched his way closer to Kyu, placing his hands on the man's shoulders once he was within reach. His feet made contact with leather shoes and he proceeded to step up on top of them, not once breaking eyes with Kyu.

He tightened his hold on the red-head, setting his right ear level with Kyu's heart, hearing its slow and steady pulse. The strong smell of sweat, dust, and _earth_ invaded his nose- almost overwhelming him had his grip on Kyu not been so secure- leaving him dizzy. He didn't mind it.

Arms that once stood at the sides soon wrapped around his waist, strong and firm, pulling him closer to Kyu. They stayed like this, breathing in each other's scent and only thinking about the body that was holding them so tightly. Naruto was glad that this course of action hadn't backfired on him this time. They had clicked this time around.

They stayed like that until someone knocked on the door, destroying the moment.

Unwrapping themselves from each other, Kyu strode over to the door and opened it with a growl. From the other side stood a shaking maid who quickly explained to them that Hidan and Kakuzu were fighting downstairs in the basement that had been specifically set up for them. Hidan was already missing an arm and a leg.

Quick as lightening, Kyu grabbed Naruto and they rushed to the basement, leaving the poor maid to deal with the traumatizing sight of a man losing an arm and a leg.

* * *

><p>Naruto was almost decapitated upon reaching the basement; a thin scythe had flown out of nowhere and stuck itself to the wall just three inches away from his head. Kyu hadn't been in any better a position. As soon as his feet stepped off the staircase and onto the floor, he found himself having to fight off thousands of tiny threads that were attempting to strangle him.<p>

Shouting could be heard coming from the farthest corner of the basement and Naruto got a good glimpse of the two monsters that had unleashed themselves. Hidan was indeed missing an arm and a leg, both from the left side, but he was now sporting a giant hole through his stomach.

Of course, none of these things seemed to register with Hidan himself, as the man just grinned and laughed hysterically. Directly across from Hidan stood his partner, Kakuzu, with a grim and stoic look in his eyes. A bright red triple bladed scythe was protruding from his stomach.

_Oh great, we leave them alone for two seconds and this is what we get. Fuck you, Nagato. Fuck. You. _Naruto thought grumpily

Kyu was already on top of things, calming Hidan down enough to get a short summary of what the hell those two were doing. While Kyu was doing that, Kakuzu waltzed over to Naruto and attempted to start a conversation with a scythe still protruding from his stomach.

Casually, Naruto asked, "Do you want me to help you with that?"

Kakuzu shook his head, "I'll just hold onto Hidan's scythe for a little bit. It's his favorite one, so with it stuck to me like this he won't be able to throw it around anymore. I don't want to have to pay for any medical bills in case one of your servants gets hurt because Hidan's an idiot."

Hidan shouted something that both Naruto and Kakuzu ignored.

"Is it alright if we leave you two alone?"

"Yeah. I just wanted Hidan to shut up, but you know how he is."

"I know, but if you could stop destroying each other till everyone's here, I'd really appreciate that."

Kakuzu just grunted, and that was enough of a reassurance for Naruto to call out to Kyu. Hidan was sitting down on the floor, calmed down and quiet. Finally done with the whole event, Kyu and Naruto walked out of the basement.

"Fu~ck. Who's going to clean that up?" Naruto shouted to no one in particular.

Without remorse, Kyu answered, "That's why I didn't want to host the meeting here."

Angrily, Naruto replied, "As if we even had the option."

"We always do, Naruto."


	9. We Wound Up Miles Apart

**Blown Away- Carrie Underwood**  
><strong>Put the Gun Down- ZZ Ward<strong>  
><strong>Disconnected- Keane<strong>  
><strong>Runaways- The Killers<strong>  
><strong>Fix Me- 10 Years<strong>  
><strong>Without You- Lana Del Ray<strong>  
><strong>When I'm Gone- Eminem<strong>

**So school started and I have to put that before everything else- However, my first set of exams are now over and before I bury myself again under the mountain called homework, I have found time to update this story! I'm **_so_** sorry it's taken so long! I hope you guys can find it in your heart to forgive me!**

**You guys should be super grateful for my beta! If it wasn't for my beta, this fic would be a war-zone filled with **_awful _**grammer and you guys wouldn't be reading it. Also, this chapter wouldn't have gotten out as soon (ha, funny...) as it did if it wasn't for my AMAZING beta Cannibal Incorporated! I love my beta so much! **

**Seriously, guys, my beta is so awesome Kishimoto **wishes** my beta would edit his Naruto series.**

* * *

><p>Most of the members of the Akatsuki were at their wit's end due to the heat that was becoming too unbearable to stand. The temperature outside had been steadily getting hotter for the last hour, and he couldn't deal with Konan's subtle threats anymore. He would have made Kyu go and redirect the heat wave or absorb the heat, if he knew where the man was currently hiding.<p>

It was now high noon and Naruto still couldn't locate Kyu. The man had disappeared when the final members of the Akatsuki had arrived, leaving Naruto to deal with most of the Akatsuki members. Deidara and Sasori had proved to be the most challenging pair to keep to themselves and had provided Kyu with the perfect opportunity to slink away somewhere. Forcing Naruto to go and find a way to keep the awful calidity away.

As he was walking past white pillar, a dark oak colored door blew off of its hinges and almost nailed him to the wall if he hadn't leapt up to the air. A trail of fire blazed its way outside of the room and rocketed towards the main stairway. _I think I found him,_Naruto thought as he heard shouting coming from the room with the exploding door.

"I won't let you do that!"

"He has to prove his worth someday."

"The Third Universe almost killed him! You need to give him more time to train and better prepare himself for that!"

"He doesn't need to go all out today, but I do want to see how much he has progressed since the last time I saw him."

"I know he isn't ready, and I won't let you kill him."

"So he hasn't worked on getting better since last time… Or is it that you won't let him?"

There was a moment of silence before Naruto heard a loud hacking sound. Worried, Naruto dropped to the floor and walked into the room quickly. He scoffed at the destroyed state of the room, but then zero-in on the red head that was genuflecting on the floor.

"Kyu!" Naruto shouted as he hurried over to the man.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, holding him still and away from Kyu. The hand tightened its grip before hauling Naruto away from the bleeding red head. For a moment, nobody said anything as they watched Kyu stand shakily to his feet.

The air turned cold before Nagato spoke up, "I take it all the members of the Akatsuki are here, finally?"

Numbly, Naruto nodded his head while watching blood continue to drip from Kyu's lips.

"Good, good."

The hand released his shoulder and moved to grip the back of his neck. The fingertips stung and felt cold as Nagato tightened his grip around Naruto's neck. Kyu was saying something, loudly, but Naruto couldn't hear it over the voice that was invading his mind.

**You haven't been working on that seal, have you?**

_No._

**That seal was your assignment. **

_No, it wasn't!_

**I gave you the choice between working on clients versus working on the seal.**

_You did no such thing!_

**You chose the seal.**

_I didn't-_

"You have chosen to neglect you duties."

Naruto whimpered, "I didn't-"

The hand tightened its hold and lifted Naruto up into the air, cutting off his air supply. Nagato stared at Naruto impassively as the boy fought to breath. Once he spotted black dots forming around his peripherals, the pierced man dropped him and watched the blond struggle for breath.

"Uncle, stop!" Kyu shouted.

Nagato only took one look at the red head before turning away and walking out of the room, threatening, "He's had several months to prepare and you have chosen to keep him in the dark. I can assure you that he won't die tonight, but Naruto** will **regret your decision."

As soon as the man left the room, Kyu rushed over to Naruto's side and helped him get back on his feet. The red head didn't say anything as Naruto clung to him and did his best to stand on his shaky legs.

Kyu didn't turn to face Naruto as he said, "He wants you to go into the Third Universe. My Uncle says that it won't be anything too extraneous or dangerous, he just wants to observe."

"If it's not dangerous, why are you so against me doing it?"

As Naruto pulled away from Kyu, he caught a glimpse of the grim faced man. The hazel eyes staring at him were clouded and narrowed; wrinkles were forming around his forehead. Kyu was concerned and there wasn't anything either of them could do to better the situation. In that moment, something burning and painful filled his heart till he was sure it would burst open.

No, not burst... Break.

Something possessed Naruto long enough to say, "We could have left all of this."

Hazel eyes widened before growling out, "Naruto-"

The blond gripped Kyu's arm and pressed on, "This could have been a distant memory and we would be on a remote island somewhere. The Akatsuki would have been some organization that we had never heard of and we could have been concerned with other things."

Kyu was clenching his fists and kept his face turned away from the blond. For a few more seconds, Naruto forgot the current circumstances they were under and clung to the thin thread that had once so strongly connected the two of them. Things didn't have to be this way, they could have been different.

"There is a way out of here. All you and I have to do-"

"I know what we have to do!" Kyu roared as he shoved Naruto away, "But if we do it your way, we run the risk of having your plan backfiring on us. And then, we'll be worse off than we are now. Naruto, I will not deal with this talk again. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded his head meekly.

Briskly, Kyu said, "My Uncle also wants you to get a passage spell ready. It looks like things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped they would go, down at the Konoha Forest."

Blue eyes widened comically while asking, "What's going on?"

"**You **will concern yourself with gathering the supplies for the spell. Konan is going to accompany you to make sure that that is all you look for in the forest." Hazel eyes glared at the boy.

Sighing, Naruto gave in and raised his arms in surrender, "Konan doesn't like the summer heat."

"She's going to have to deal with it-"

"I want her to keep her goddamn cloak on."

Kyu chuckled, "I can't make any promises."

Together, they walked out of the destroyed room and headed over to the living room. Upon entering the hallway, though, a paper crane the size of his hand flew down and landed on Naruto's shoulder. The crane nuzzled his cheek briefly before settling down and getting comfortable.

"Hey you." Naruto greeted the paper animal.

Kyu cleared his throat loudly and said, "I think that's your cue to go and meet with her. I've got to head over to the living room and see what Nagato wants to do about the forest."

"How're you injuries?"

"They were just minor cuts, I'll be fine."

"Minor cuts?" Naruto scoffed.

Naruto wanted to protest and check for himself, but when he tried to get a good look at Kyu, the man simply fled in the other direction. As the red head walked away the crane nuzzled his cheek again, signaling for his departure as well.

"Where's Konan?" Naruto asked the paper crane.

In a flash the crane took to the air, flapping away from Naruto and towards the main staircase. The paper crane bolted down the stairs and didn't check to see if Naruto was going to follow it. Sparing one last glance towards Kyu, Naruto flew after the bird.

* * *

><p>As Naruto made his way down the stairs, he noted the fully cloaked appearance of the woman that was to escort him to the forest. She stood a full head taller than him and had shoulder length blue hair that she liked to adorn with paper flowers. This time around, she had on a small pink blooming apricot flower.<p>

Konan was leaning against the stairway railing when he had finally made it down. The soft spoken woman had her eyes closed while her hands folded and shaped paper. Naruto said nothing as he watched the folds shape the paper into a tiny butterfly. The blue haired woman threw the paper butterfly into the air and they both watched it flutter around clumsily.

The little crane that once stood on his shoulder took to the air again, following the little butterfly for a few seconds. Then, without warning, the crane swooped in on the paper butterfly and tore it to pieces. Naruto grunted unhappily as he watched the crane devour its own kind.

"The butterfly felt no pain."

"I know they're not living, but that's still cannibalism, in a weird way." Naruto said.

"Think of it as 'survival of the fittest.'"

"Konan, that doesn't even make sense."

"Then don't think about it." She told him quietly.

The little shreds of paper gently floated to the ground and gathered into a petite pile. The crane landed on top of the pile and looked towards the woman expectantly. Konan held out her arm and the little crane hopped onto her arm, snuggling up against the woman.

She petted the paper animal, while saying to Naruto, "You don't need a duffel bag or pestle and mortar, right?"

"I won't need those things till later, but I do have my inscribed knife. I just need some clematis and dianthus; I saw some fennel growing around the back of the mansion so we don't need to go far for that."

Konan just nodded her head and began to head over towards the front door. When Naruto found that he couldn't just leave the pile, he summoned a small draft to pick up and carry the remains of the shredded butterfly. The crane and Konan only stared at him oddly as Naruto carefully escorted the butterfly corpse outside.

Naruto reasoned, "All of the servants are busy and I don't like leaving unnecessary messes."

The origami master didn't respond, only continuing to walk outside with her crane.

Once outside, Naruto pushed the draft up and above them as high as he could. From his right he heard Konan cough non-too-subtly as a sign to hurry up. As soon as the breeze carried the little shreds up to the clouds, he released the draft and watched the paper shreds flutter in the wild winds that moved clouds.

"Okay, I feel better now." Naruto hummed.

Completely ignoring him now, she walked over towards the forest and pulled out a small knife, proceeding to cut open her left palm. When Naruto tried to ask her what the hell she was doing, she ignored his inquiries and slammed her bleeding left palm against the first giant tree she found. The blood seeped into the tree's bark, disappearing into the tree's deep ridges.

For a few seconds, the tree did nothing and Naruto thought that the woman had gone mad again. His theory was soon put to rest, though, when the tree's bark turned a dark red shade. The bark continued to darken and turn wine-red, before completely flying off the tree and leaving it bare.

The pieces of bark flew into the air and proceeded to take the shape of several little woodland creatures. In no time at all, several little creatures were running around Konan. A small bark covered fox trotted over to Naruto and attempted to take a small bite of his pants. Although Naruto protested and did his best to defend his pants, the fox managed to tear a small piece off of his pants.

Konan watched the whole spectacle with a small smile, watching the fox carefully as the bark creature swallowed the piece of fabric. Once the fabric was absorbed, the fox trotted over to its master and sat on its hunches. Amongst the cloaked female were a few other woodland creatures; rabbits, squirrels, and possums surrounded her on the ground. Up above in the tree branches, however, was where her true master pieces stood.

Owls, eagles, cranes and hundreds of little indecipherable birds stretched their wings, twitched and fluttered about, getting acquainted with their environment. The myriad of birds 'chirped,' 'hummed,' and 'hooted' as they stood behind their master and stared at Naruto. Konan was chuckling quietly to herself as Naruto glared back at the birds.

"I've heard of your 'adventures' and am well aware of the things you've done in order to escape a day of labor. This might be overkill, but I'd rather be safe than sorry." She warned.

Naruto only took a deep breath before uttering, "You think I'd be stupid enough to make a run for it when the whole damn gang's here?"

"A stupid person is always capable of doing stupid things."

"Konan, why does Nagato need a passage spell?"

The woman only raised a single brow and crossed her arms, "You see what I mean? There you go doing something stupid and asking for trouble. If I tell you, I run the risk of you interfering with their mission."

Naruto only grunted indecipherably and proceeded to walk past her. As one, Konan and her bark creatures turned and observed Naruto walk clumsily into the thick forest. She watched the blond from a distance as he began to make his own summons.

Gentle breezes brushed past him and winds blew back into forest to retrieve the things he needed. The strong gusts of wind carved clear trails through the thick forest brush as they searched for clematis and dianthus. After a few minutes, the wind came back bearing all of the plants Naruto had requested.

After grabbing the plants from the wind, Naruto thanked the element and pushed deeper into the forest, bearing a scowl. Several of the bark birds had already taken flight and were hovering over the blond as he trekked through thick forest bushes. Naruto paid them no attention as he walked further away from Konan.

He shouted over his shoulder, "I need an extremely thick oak tree branch. That's the one thing I can't ask the wind to bring for me, because I actually have to carve it out a certain way. Tell your birds to be on the look-out for any extremely thick oak trees."

As the woman nodded her compliance, Naruto pocketed the plants and summoned a docile wind to his legs before pushing off to the air. Several of the birds '_squawked_' in surprise as the blond pushed them away and made them lose their equilibrium. Konan scoffed as his antics before ordering her birds to go and search for the desired oak tree.

Immediately, within the minute that she had ordered them, one of the eagles cried out to Konan. The woman let out a piercing whistle and the army of birds flew to the blond, surrounding the boy in a cloud of bark birds. Naruto had been so preoccupied with sailing around the air in search of his tree; he was completely taken by surprise by the creatures.

Naruto twisted his head to shout to Konan, "Fuck! What the _hell, _Konan?!"

"I have found the desired tree. Just follow the birds and I'll meet up with you in a little bit."

A small portion of the birds scattered ahead of him, leading the way to the tree. Grumbling, Naruto left the woman alone and allowed the birds to push him along. He would have just summoned more air to his legs, but he wasn't sure how the bark birds would handle the whirling wind.

Their bark-for-flesh felt rough and scraped harshly against his bare arms, leaving him with several little cuts. The birds jostled and pushed him along, showing no patience for his slow, but steady air-walking pace. They flew through the air for a few more minutes with no oak tree in site. Naruto was beginning to think this was a form of punishment from Konan.

Just as Naruto was about to show the birds exactly how irritated he was with them, they dispersed and scattered over to where a bark-covered eagle was perched on a giant oak tree. The tree stood above all other trees and looked to be reaching for the clouds. Naruto was almost positive that if left alone for a few more years, the tree would indeed touch the clouds. He took a few minutes to admire the size of the oak tree before flying over to the first thick branch he saw.

He went over to the first branch he saw and stood in awe of its sheer size and length. The branch's width matched his height and it was at least 40 feet long. This branch would last them for several hours, even a whole day if Naruto kept the flames' heat to the bare minimum.

Portals were an unstable form of transportation that were only used for emergencies. Although they were a specialty of Naruto's, their preparation and set up often proved to be too time consuming and not worthwhile. Not only that, but they were also extremely unreliable due to their tendencies to just close up and seal the passengers away into some unknown dimension. Naruto hadn't yet been able to figure out if it was indeed the portal's fault, or if he had screwed up the ingredients.

The thicker the tree branch, the longer it would burn. If the fire consumed the branch too quickly, it would kill the fickle portal and prevent the occupants from returning safely. Fire had the ability to tear holes through space, but only if there was a guide to keep the fires going along the right path. Once the guide gave out, so would the flame and, essentially, the passageway.

Landing on the branch with a soft _thud, _Naruto began to direct large rations of his energy into the branch. Though he felt nothing for a few seconds, he braced himself for when the branch would finally recognize the energy and begin to greedily take from him. Once the branch did take a hold of his energy, Naruto grit his teeth and did his best to ignore the cold that began to seep into him. As soon as he felt dizzy, though, he paused briefly to check and see if the branch was ready for his hand touched the bark of the oak tree, a small spark burst out from the deep ridges to touch his fingertip.

"Eep!" he screeched while immediately retracting his hand from the bark to cradle his burnt  
>fingertip.<p>

_That should be good… _Digging into his right pants pocket, Naruto pulled out the inscribed pocket knife. He turned to face where the branch was still connected to the rest of the tree and then began to quickly chip away at the bark surrounding that area. It was slow and tedious work, but at least this way the branch would better retain the energy Naruto had just forced into it.

Abruptly, he stopped what he was doing and just stared at one of the few treasures that he had been able to salvage before the Akatsuki had taken him away. The little pocket knife was a gift from Mizuki before the man went awol and destroyed what little happiness they had. To Naruto, the little knife that he held in his hand was a bittersweet reminder that there was once a place he could call home.

* * *

><p><em>"Clean your room! I mean it this time, Naruto!"<em>

_Pouting, Naruto responded, "I'll clean it later, I'm too tired right now." _

_"You didn't even lift a finger to help me move! You just sat on your ass and snored the day away!" Mizuki yelled._

_"It was a long drive!"_

_Standing tall, Mizuki responded, "You're 6 years old, but you're not a baby anymore, Naruto. That excuse won't work on me."_

_"You're just really cranky right now!" Naruto pouted._

_"You can at least help with setting up your room."_

_"Can't I fix it tomorrow?"_

_"No, you little brat! Fix it now." To prove a point, Mizuki flicked the 6 year olds forehead and crossed his arms when the blond began sniffling. _

_"Ow! That hurt!" the child cried._

_"The only time you ever listen to me is when I use violence."_

_"But you said to not use violence to prove a point!"_

_Stuttering stupidly, Mizuki merely screamed, "Go clean your room!"_

_"What's the point in cleaning it if we're just going to move again!?"_

_"Naruto-"_

_Stomping his feet, Naruto yelled, "As soon as I put my clothes into the drawers, you come screaming about a new job! Or a nicer neighborhood! Or a better school! What'll you say this time?"_

_"Hey! Those are legitimate reasons to move!"_

_"That doesn't answer my question."_

_"That's not what this is about!" Mizuki screamed back._

_"Then what is this about?"_

_"Just go clean your room, you bum!"_

_Naruto screamed, "Why are we always moving!?"_

_"Because I want to give you the best!" Bending down to Naruto's eye level, Mizuki hugged the boy to his chest and whispered into his hair, "I'm not doing this because I like moving or can't settle down._

_"I'm doing this because I love you with all my heart and soul and I just want to give you things that will make your life easier. I'm sorry I haven't been able to find the right environment for us, but if you'll just bear with me I'm sure we'll find it."_

_"I like it here. I don't want to move anymore." Naruto mumbled into his guardian's shirt._

_"You haven't even been here for a whole day." Mizuki reasoned gently, "I'm sorry, my little ray, I can't say that we'll be here for long. The only thing I can guarantee is that we'll be better off."_

_Naruto just sniffled out, "But you're so angry, stressed and scared when we move. It makes me sad to see you like that."_

_Chuckling, Mizuki replied, "I'm angry because I hate moving. I'm stressed because I don't have a solid game plan for when we move. And I'm scared because I don't want to hurt you and force you to move again._

_"That's all it is, little ray."_

_Pulling away from Mizuki, Naruto looked him in the eye and said, "You don't need to lie to me, Zuzu."_

_"But I'm no-"_

_"Zuzu."_

_The man got up from where he was crouching and whispered, "I'll tell you when the time's right. For now, I just want you to be the carefree little boy you're supposed to be. Okay?"_

_Taking that as the perfect cue to end the conversation, the silver haired man walked away from Naruto and back into the laundry room. Alone and confused, Naruto ran out of the kitchen and down the hall to his room._

_Walking into his room blindly proved to be a mistake. As he opened the door to his room and walked inside, he tripped over a heavy box that was directly in the way of the door. He face planted the floor and did his best not to cry out loud; he had no desire to prove Mizuki right. Once the pain subsided, Naruto rolled onto his back and sat up._

_Although his guardian had a point, Naruto still couldn't get over the fact that the man was hiding something and was doing his best to distract Naruto. Putting away all of the clothes and trinkets that Naruto possessed would definitely distract the boy long enough to not think about their conversation. _

_Why was his guardian so keen on keeping stupid secrets? He just wanted to know why Mizuki was always so high strung each and every single time they moved. Naruto let out an explosive sigh and decided to save these thoughts for a later time; he still had to put his bed things together so that he could get a good night's rest._

_He touched his nose gingerly and ignored the sore spots that were forming all over his face. The floor creaked and groaned as Naruto stood to get up. For several moments, the blond just stood still and looked around his room, taking note of where most of the boxes were piled up._

_The biggest boxes were set up around the tiny closet, some of the smaller boxes were near his bed and the rest of the boxes were scattered haphazardly. His bed was a mere frame with a mattress thrown over it and his drawers were empty. The room looked so empty and disheveled at the same time._

_It only took him a second to decide that he did not have the energy to do anything. Shuffling over towards his window, Naruto plopped right in front of it and stared at the forest that was in his backyard._

At least we're by a forest, _Naruto tried to reason with himself. _

_His new home was a humble one story building with his room facing the backyard. The large windows in his room provided the perfect viewing of the forest that was in his backyard. This spectacular landscape was a welcome relief from where they had previously lived and Naruto was looking forward to the changes in weather._

_Out of the corner of his eye, the blond spotted some bushes rustling. With bated breath, he watched in awe as a small herd of deer walked out of the forest and into his backyard. He counted 4 big deer and 3 little ones following behind. One big deer walked around carefully, taking small steps to check for predators whilst exploring the area._

_The big deer did that for a few more minutes before deeming the area secure and allowing the smaller deer to roam around freely. The small herd dispersed and began walking around the whole area. Some of the big deer kept to the edges of the forest, while the rest tramped over towards his house and closer to him._

_Naruto stood perfectly still while observing the deer sniff around his window and lawn. They looked just like any other deer that he had seen on the nature shows and wilderness books, but something seemed a bit off with their fur. He had never seen fur so smoothed down before; it was almost as if the fur had been painted onto the deer._

_Gradually, so as not to startle them, Naruto walked closer towards his window to get a better look at the deer. Upon closer inspection, the blond noticed other odd little things about these deer._

_From the deer that was closest, he noticed that all of their hooves were a weird white/grey color instead of a solid black. Just as he was an inch away from his window, his foot accidentally bumped a pile of boxes, causing the whole thing to spill and crash. As one, the deer swiveled their heads over towards him._

_Cursing his luck, Naruto slumped in disappointment and waited for the deer to flee. When the deer only stared wide-eyed at him and remained rooted to the spot, Naruto became slightly confused. Were they just used to human contact? Is that why they weren't afraid?_

_"Get away from the window."_

_"Eep!" Naruto screamed while scrambling to turn and face his guardian._

_"Naruto, get the hell away from the window, NOW!" Mizuki screamed._

_**Clink**_

_Before Naruto could even register what the sound could have meant, he saw Mizuki charge towards him. Reacting to instinct Naruto crouched into a small ball, covering his head and waited for the impact of Mizuki's body crashing into his. The sound of glass breaking erupted and Naruto yelped as he felt arms wrap around him._

_"Mizuki!" He cried out as he felt some glass shards sprinkle him._

_The man tightened his grip around the boy's waist and shoulders before choosing that very moment to scream something into the air. Naruto felt the ground shake and then darkness surrounded them. Something wet dripped slowly onto his face._

_Cautiously, Naruto called out, "Zuzu?"_

_"Shh, we need to be quiet."_

_It was too dark for him to get a look-around and see what had happened. The arms had a vice-like grip around his waist and Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to see for himself what was going on. His curiosity was eating him from the inside out, making it impossible for him to do as Mizuki asked._

_"Zuzu, what happened? Why is it dark?"_

_"Please, Naruto, I need you to just bear with me for just a few more minutes."_

_A hand plastered itself against his lips and Naruto said no more. From up above, Naruto heard the muffled sounds of booms and things exploding. The floorboards squeaked and shook as more things blew up. The vibrations were enough to jostle the blond out of Mizuki's arms and Naruto pushed himself away from his guardian. _

_"What's going on?!" He cried out._

_"I'm trying to protect us, but you're making it impossible." The man coughed loudly and then proceeded to spit something out._

_"Zuzu," Naruto choked, "I'm scared."_

_A few feet away, Naruto heard the man crawl over towards him. The arms shakily wrapped themselves around his shoulders and the blond clung to his guardian's waist. No one said anything while they listened to the sound of things collapsing. Naruto pressed his ear to the man's chest and tried to focus on the hurried heart beats of his guardian._

_After a few more minutes of listening to the morbid screeching sounds, Mizuki spoke up quietly, "I broke a promise to a very bad man. This man is very powerful and he's got his hands everywhere, so we're in constant danger. You're worth the danger, though. For you, my little ray, I would do anything to keep you safe and away from this man." _

_"Is he the reason we always have to move?"_

_"Yes." Mizuki replied while running his hands through Naruto's hair._

_"Why is it so dark? I can't see anything."_

_"I buried the house."_

_"…"_

_"You weren't supposed to find out about these things till you were older. I wanted you to live a normal childhood until you reached the age of 15… But I guess things don't always work out the way we plan them."_

_Mizuki took a deep breath before continuing on, "Remember all those bedtime stories I used to tell you when you were younger? The tales of the escape artist or the story about the different Clans, do you remember those?"_

_Naruto nodded his head, "Those weren't stories. They're things that have either happened to me or they're people that I've met."_

_While the boy did his best to regulate his breathing, Mizuki pushed on, "I don't mean to brag or anything, but I hold the title as the world's best escape artist. You don't have to worry about anything; I will keep us safe and sound."_

_Just as Mizuki finished that sentence, the floorboards beneath them shook once again and Naruto thought that they were sinking. Alarmed, he tightened his grip around Mizuki's waist and cried out in fear when he felt something wet drip down the man's back._

_"Are you hurt, Zuzu?"_

_"Yeah, but it's not anything life-threatening. They're just a lot of annoying little scratches that I can fix with regular ointment."_

_Naruto argued, "But you're bleeding a lot."_

_"They're a lot of little scratches. We just need to wait out the battle and then I can worry about myself. My only concern right now is to keep you safe."Mizuki grit out._

_"Why are we sinking?"_

_"You don't need to worry about that, I'm burying us beneath the earth right now."_

_"How're you doing that?" Naruto asked, doing his best to distract himself from everything else._

_"My specialty is earth elements. Before we fully moved in, I placed several spells beneath the earth and then set up a ton of traps around the area. When I felt a disturbance in the aura, I commanded the earth to swallow us whole and to push us as far down as I tell it."_

_Mizuki stopped talking for a few minutes and lifted his arm to rub small circles onto Naruto's back. They both took that moment to pay closer attention to the sounds being emitted above them. The vibrations were becoming less frequent, but they were still very powerful._

_"Do you know what's going on up there?" _

_"Oh, just a very small portion of hell is being unleashed right now."_

_"Like?"_

_"Use your imagination, sunshine. What do you think hell is like?"_

_Trembling, Naruto uttered, "I don't want to think about hell right now, Zuzu."_

_"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you more than you already are- Ah!" His guardian screamed._

_"What's wrong?!"_

_"It's the shrapnel in my back. Don't worry about it; once I get us out of here I'll be able to take proper care of it. Come with me." _

_Mizuki grabbed the child's hand and they both walked out of the boy's room unsteadily. A loud '__**crack**__' resounded from up above, and Naruto became alarmed when Mizuki tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder. Though he couldn't see it, Naruto knew that the debris falling on top of him was dust and paint chips from the ceiling._

* * *

><p>Some of the wood would come off awkwardly and zip past his face or smack him gently. It didn't bother him; he'd dealt with worse. What he didn't like so much, was that it kept reminding him of just how much more work he still had left do. It was starting to make him panic, in a weird way.<p>

While he chipped away at the branch, he hummed a quiet tune. The gentle music called out to his inscribed pocket-knife, making it glow faintly as he gradually poured his energy into the blade. Along with preventing the blade from dulling, the inscription on the blade was also a sealing spell that would keep the energy from leaking out of the branch.

Unfortunately, that was all the extra help he would allow himself. He still had a-ways to go, but he dared not risk just yanking the branch out of its home. Although it was just a tree branch and this large tree shouldn't miss one of its branches, it didn't give Naruto the right to just take it. It was a law that he had had to learn the hard way in order to be able to work with Nature.

In general: it's always better to just be humble and work patiently, lest the Mother turn into a  
>motherfucker.<p>

Sweat was dripping from his forehead by the bucket load, but at least he was half-way done with the task. The branch was teetering precariously, but he was already so drained from all of the work he had done earlier. There was just no way he could keep cutting, while summoning a strong draft to hold the branch steady.

His breathing was becoming shallow and he felt as though he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He really wanted to take a break, but he doubted Nagato would give him the time of day. Pressing on, he continued to slowly chip and cut away at the connecting branch.

As he slowly cut, he made sure to keep very aware of his surroundings. The birds still had him surrounded from every side and some of them even fluttered over his shoulders to take a peek at his work. When they got too close, Naruto just endured the treatment and ignored their inquiring calls.

A loud and ominous '_crack' _was his only warning before the branch teetered further. Cursing, Naruto hurried his blade and did his best to seal all of the breaks, tears and cracks that had appeared too quickly for his liking. The birds around him were now squawking louder and the ones closest to him were pulling on his shirt persistently.

"I'm almost done! Just give me a few more seconds!"

With one final loud '_crack_' the branch gave out under him and Naruto was left to plummet to the ground.

* * *

><p><em>"Zuzu?!"<em>

_"Calm down, they won't get to us. We've just hit a bit of a bump and the structure of this house is a lot weaker than I thought. Here, let's just head over to my room and we can settle down better in there."_

_It was still pitch black inside of the house; Naruto couldn't tell when he had his eyes closed or when he had his eyes open. Thankfully, despite his injuries, Mizuki apparently already had the house memorized and knew his way around. The man pushed Naruto into his room and closed the door. _

_"What are we doing here?"_

_"There wasn't enough time to pick up my blade," was the only thing the man said before he started humming._

_Out of the corner of his eye, a light flew past Naruto's head and made a solid '__**thunk´**__ sound as it hit the center of Mizuki's door. As the light lit the room, Naruto was able to get a better look at his guardian and gasped at all of the blood that was spilling from the man's back. The man was leaning heavily against the door._

_Naruto whispered, "You're really hurt, Zuzu."_

_His guardian didn't look at him when he said, "This knife has a protection and shield inscription engraved on the blade, which will keep us safe and give me time to recover. The shrapnel turned out to be cursed and I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to alarm you. If I don't get rid of the paper that's stuck in-between my wounds, the injury will only get worse."_

_"Paper? I thought it was the window that broke?"_

_"Yeah, well, you're not yet trained to spot the discrepancies in the aura."_

_"Trained?"_

_"Well, I can't keep you in the dark any longer. I might as well get you started on your training so that you can better protect yourself. It's really hard at first, but I swear to you, you won't regret learning this."_

* * *

><p><em><em>If I wasn't so freakin' drained, <em>_I might actually be somewhat worried right now… __Falling rapidly, Naruto realized too late where he had made his first mistake. His first mistake was picking a branch that stood above other branches. His second mistake was not paying more attention to the height of the branch he sat on.

Clinging on to the branch for all it was worth, Naruto prayed he at least had enough energy left to avoid crashing into the other branches and to soften the landing. He breathed in deeply and let out a long exhalation that snaked beneath the branch and himself. Pouring what little energy he had left, he strengthened the wind and ordered it to carry them straight to the ground.

The whirlwind underneath them did its best to keep the branch from flipping over and helped in keeping Naruto seated upright. As the whirling wind beneath them worked to keep them alive, Naruto and the branch were forced to endure the difficult ride. They bumped unpleasantly against the other branches and Naruto was nearly jostled out of his seat numerous times. His fingers clung desperately to the splintered and snapped wood, but never once let go.

Although the branches seemed to be endless, Naruto finally bypassed the last branch and was able to enjoy a smoother ride down to the ground. The wind slowly lost its strength as they neared the ground, but carried them steadily. Upon touching the ground, though, the wind finally gave out and the branch landed with a solid '_thunk_'

Shakily, Naruto got off the branch and kneeled to touch the ground reverently, "Oh, thank everything above, below and around."

He was still shaking when he got up and turned around to take a quick look at the state of the branch, praying that it hadn't been too hurt in the whole fiasco. It didn't look like it had been too badly damage; he couldn't even see a dent on the branch when he walked all around it. Though he wanted to press on and take a full inventory of the over-sized oak branch, the sound of hundreds of birds chirping was getting to be too loud for his liking.

Looking up to the oak tree, Naruto shouted to them, "Sorry! I would've warned you if there had been more time!" This only caused the birds to up their volume.

Plugging his ears to muffle their awful screeching, Naruto looked back to the branch and began to walk around it again, paying more attention to the thick bark. Once he made sure that the bark was still good, the blond went to look over at where the branch had ripped from the tree.

It was there that Naruto felt the little stream of energy that was slowly seeping out from the area that he had not yet sealed. He pulled out his knife again and went to quickly finish up the remaining unsealed part of the branch. He didn't bother humming to his blade this time, the inscriptions on the blade would be just barely enough to keep the energy sealed inside of the branch.

That and he couldn't spare anymore strength at the moment.

From behind him, he heard a voice speak up and address him, "That was quiet the spectacle you just gave."

Naruto turned around swiftly to face the person speaking to him and shouted nervously,

"Kisame!"

The man three times Naruto's size only gave the blond a sharp-toothed grin and walked slowly over to where the blond was sitting. Kisame had on the signature Akatsuki cloak that hid most of his body and only left his face visible to the public. His black hair was slicked up to a sharp point, clashing perfectly with his dark tanned skin. The man took a long look at the branch the boy was finishing up, standing dauntingly over him. Naruto didn't say anything else to Kisame as he hurried and closed up the unsealed part of the branch.

Naruto's silence didn't deter Kisame in the slightest, "It's a pretty fucking huge branch, but how long do you think this will burn for?"

Stiffly, Naruto replied, "Probably a whole day, if we let it."

"It won't take us that long to finish up. Nagato said it'll only take us a few hours to absolve most of the wayward loose ends. Are you just going to perform the passage spell here?"

"I can't. There are too many flammable objects in here and I won't be able to focus on the passageway if I also have to keep a forest fire at bay."

Kisame grunted curiously, before saying, "Here, move aside and keep out of my way. I'll take this back to the mansion."

"Whoa, wait. What-" Before he could finish his sentence, a dark blue aura burst from Kisame and bathed Naruto with its resonance.

The dark blue aura covered Kisame in a thick coat, obscuring the man from Naruto's sight for a few seconds. When the aura dissipated, Kisame's skin was tinted blue and he had gills sprouting from his high cheek bones. Thinly covered veins snaked along Kisame's thickened neck, protruding in a fashion that made Naruto's skin crawl.

"It's rude to stare." A feminine voice spoke out to him.

"Fuck! Why do you people do that?"

Due to all of the work he had had to finish and the unexpected visit from Kisame, Naruto had completely forgotten about Konan and her birds. Appearing directly next to him, Naruto was forced to turn away from Kisame in order to fully face the woman. And when he did turn to look at her, it took Naruto a few seconds to fully digest what he was seeing.

Two towering bears, made from bark, sat on their hunches behind Konan. The two bears twitched their ears cutely this way and that, but that was not enough evidence to convince Naruto that they were friendly. Konan was smirking and turned around to scratch the ear of the bear on her right.

"It's not our fault you're always so distracted by everything." She said quietly, "You should learn to focus. Then, you won't be caught unaware all the time."

"Konan, could you help me already!" An angry Kisame growled out from behind Naruto.

Konan only scoffed irritably at Kisame's impatience before ordering the bears over to help the idiotic man who had taken it upon himself to start lifting the branch. The man had barely raised the branch above his waist, but was already struggling for breath. Though, the fact that his arms remained in their sockets was a feat within itself considering the size of the branch. The thing was at least three times Kisame's weight and probably four times his length.

One of the bears shoved itself under the branch and worked like a jack, lifting the branch up on its back. Kisame grumbled something about Konan 'being a show-off,' but let go of the branch when it became apparent that the bear could handle the weight. The second bear went over to the other end of the branch and waited patiently for Kisame to lift it up for him. As soon as Kisame had lifted the branch up a few feet, the second bear did the same thing as the first and lifted the branch on to its back.

While the bears adjusted themselves to comfortably carry the branch, Konan summoned the rest of her creatures to come to her side. Kisame, meanwhile, walked over between the two bears and placed his hand on to the tree. He kept his hand on the branch in order to keep it in place and to prevent it from rolling off of the bear's backs.

When they were all ready Konan set the pace and they all marched off back to the mansion. The woman tugged Naruto along roughly, because he was walking too slowly for her liking. Naruto didn't mind, but he wished they could have let him rest just a little bit longer. He was still shaky from his fall earlier.

* * *

><p>By the time the branch was set upright, most of the Akatsuki were waiting anxiously for Naruto to start the passage spell. Along with the branch being set upright, there were three small holes placed in a triangle formation around the whole branch. Inside of the holes were three gently burning plants that were emitting tiny trail clouds of smoke.<p>

A small wind carried the smoke over to Naruto and surrounded the boy, who was standing before the branch with both of his palms pressing against it. Kyu walked over to Naruto and tapped his shoulder, asking one last time if the blond was ready. The smoke wasn't suffocating or even hindering him in any way, it merely danced and swirled around his figure. The blond nodded to Kyu and pointed to the bottom of the branch.

"Make sure to light it _underneath _the branch, not on the side." Naruto instructed him.

Kyu kneeled to the ground and pushed his hand under the branch. It took less than a second before the entire branch was set aflame and was cracking open from several different areas. Despite his hands coming in direct contact with the flame, Naruto held onto the branch and was fiercely chanting to it.

The flames licked his arms, but he did not feel the heat or the pain that came with it. The branch was still holding upright, regardless of the numerous cracks and splinters in its foundation. As the flames infiltrated the wood that lay hidden beneath the bark, the fire came into direct contact with the energy that Naruto had stored in there.

At once, the flames became a roaring blue fire and engulfed the branch in its entirety. Naruto's hands were also covered in the blue flame and the boy quickly ran to each pit that held the burning plants. Where once lay gently burning plants, were now pits that spat blue flames and sizzled loudly.

Naruto placed his hands back on the branch and focused on the heat and energy that was starting to mingle together beautifully, creating a rip in the atmosphere. On the other side of the branch, a loud crack was heard and Naruto was confident that the branch had finally given way and was beginning to turn into a portal. As he felt the rip continue to get bigger, the blond hummed loudly and pushed more of his energy into the rip.

From his peripheral, Naruto saw Kyu walk over to the side and he stopped humming to ask loudly, "How big do you want it?"

"Big enough to fit Kisame," was his only response.

Pursing his lips together, Naruto let out a long whistle and pushed air into the flames. As he fanned the flames, the branch roared and let out a resounding '_crack_' as it split down the middle. Naruto closed his eyes and felt for the portal, sighing in relief when he didn't feel anything was wrong with it. Taking that as a safe sign, the runt of the group took a deep breath and let go of the branch, walking over to the side.

Once he reached the other side of the branch, a small smile broke out as he stared at his hard work and admired the quietly '_thrumming_' portal. Although the size was overkill (he hadn't intended for it to stretch out to the whole length of the branch) it was wide enough to just barely fit Kisame and that was all that mattered. The branch surrounding the portal was covered in blue flames, but was no longer burning as most of the energy and heat were now being directed towards an entirely different part of the world right now.

Against the brightly burning flames, the portal was dark and stood ominously before the young boy. Undisturbed by the imagery, the blond sat down cross-legged in front of the portal and started chanting again, this time, though, giving the portal a few descriptions of the place he wanted the portal to open to.

"_It was once a place that was whole. Now, however, there is a huge hole where there once stood a tall and proud obstruction, almost near the center of the Konoha forest. I need you to open to a place that is a few miles away from where the hole is and I need you to be concealed. So long as you are feeding on these flames and I am lending you my energy, you will not close until I say so."_

The portal briefly glowed a dark blue, before turning back to its solid black color.

Satisfied with the portals response, Naruto looked up towards Kyu and said, "So long as you hold on to this blue flame, you'll be good to travel through the portal."

Kyu gave him a toothy grin, touching his held-out hand and letting the flames crawl up his arm. The rest of the members followed suit, with less enthusiasm, until only Konan and Naruto were the ones without a blue flame crawling up their arms. The blond sat absolutely still, focusing most of his energy into keeping the portal on the correct path and checking for any discrepancies that might trigger a bad domino effect within the portal.

When he still didn't see or feel that there was anything wrong with the portal, Naruto announced,

"You can go now." and watched the members, one-by-one, walk into the portal.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**YOU GUYS! IT'S ALMOST BEEN ONE YEAR SINCE I FIRST UPLOADED CHAPTER 1... I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF FOR NOT GIVING UP ON THIS STORY! It really thanks to you- the people who bother to leave a review or follow this story. You guys are just as amazing as my beta, thank you so much! You don't know how much it means to me that you've stuck around this long. I wish I could meet you all in person and give you guys real hugs and cookies :D**


	10. I Could Hear the Thunder

The Drunken Whaler- COPILOT

Serial Killer, Ride- Lana Del Rey

Happy Together- Filter

Sweet Nothing- Calvin Harris ft Florence Welch

Naughty Naughty- Porcelain Black

Blinding, Howl- Florence + the Machine

A/N: Sorry! So sorry! I didn't mean to go so long without updating… But school has to come first and taking on two extremely homework heavy science courses does not give me much free time for anything other than panicking or sleeping. Hopefully this chapter is long enough to last you guys until I finish the spring semester.

Please read and review! I appreciate and love feedback, so don't be afraid to leave a word or more about this fic!

FYI: chapters 6-10 are taking place on the same day. No! Stop. Don't give me that look. That look only serves to make it harder for me to leave my emo corner…

* * *

><p>The sun was setting by the time Konan decided to break the silence between the two of them.<p>

"Have you seen it?"

Silence, and then, "Seen what?"

"The end," Konan pushed. "Surely you've seen it."

Naruto argued, "I can't see the future, Konan. I'm just really good at reading people and seeing into their actions. That's it."

"But you've seen it," she whispered evasively.

"I've seen many versions of it," Naruto clipped.

Dismissing his tone, Konan asked again, "How does it end?"

"I don't know, I just know that it does," he whispered as he turned his head back in the direction of the portal. Naruto's blue eyes glazed over as he redirected his attention back to the mission at hand and ignored the rest of Konan's inquiries.

* * *

><p>The air smelled so foul it made her choke. All around her, as far as her eyes could see, she saw bits and pieces of what was once a mansion. Most of the debris was smoldering and emitted smoke that clouded the air and made it hard to breath.<p>

Kiba's face was pinched as he did his best to breathe through his mouth instead of his nose. Gai was tense and straight-backed as they walked through the remains of what had once been an inhabited mansion. Between them, Tenten limped along slowly and cautiously. If she got too dizzy from the pain in her back, she would lean against Kiba who gently wrapped an arm around her waist.

Thanks to the slow walking, Tenten was allowed a good, long look into their increasingly dismal and alarming situation. Not only was she not able to recognize a single officer in the ruins, but all of the officers were working very quickly and efficiently through what debris remained of the mansion. At the rate the officers were working, there would be nothing left of the mansion to investigate.

The area that had the most rubble was swarming with officers who wore the dark red lettering 'P.I.' on their uniforms. The majority of them were grim-faced and barking things to each other, going over the remains of what was once a beautiful mansion.

No matter where she looked or how she labeled their situation, it was pretty bad.

"Yamato, I'm gonna go and see how the dummy is holding up," Temari shouted over her shoulder as she sprinted away from them and towards the very far end of the explosion site.

Yamato looked like he wanted to protest her actions, but she was long gone before he could finish blinking. The bearded man shook his head before letting out an explosive sigh. He turned around to fully face them, his eyes looking very tired before he blinked the fatigue away and fixed them with a hard glare.

"As you can probably tell, these men working here are not the typical officers you deal with. These are men and women that work and investigate special circumstances that aren't usually made known to the public. They're here to clean up the mess and tie up any loose ends that might have been missed.

As soon as they're done here, another fire will be set up and made to look like this whole event was an accident. In this second fire, you three shall find yourselves lost among the flames and-"

From the distance, a scream interrupted Yamato's monologue.

The man looked up, eyes widening slightly before he started shouting out orders, "All men break into offensive formation!"

The screams were coming from behind TenTen, and she turned around to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Just as she turned, Kiba grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down to the ground in time to dodge a man who had blooming flowers all over his body.

When Tenten managed to look up and around at her surroundings, she felt her chin very roughly hit the dirt floor.

"Holy fuck!" she heard Kiba shout beside her.

A platinum blonde dressed in purple back flipped over two scrambling officers and touched their backs before landing on the ground in front of them. She was lightning quick as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a dust that she blew into the officers faces. The sparkling brown landed heavily on the two men, covering them from head to boot. Although they did their best to wipe off the powder, they only succeeded in spreading the powder everywhere.

The two officers coughed harshly as the substance landed into their mouths. Both men began to frantically scratch at their faces before letting out screeches. _Poison?_ Tenten contemplated, as she saw a little blood begin to spill out from the mens' orifices.

Blood spattered out of their mouths disgustingly as their screams got louder. Though they were blinking furiously, it did nothing to clear their vision as blood dripped from their tear ducts. Red poured out of their ears and although they wore black, Tenten saw that their pants bottoms were becoming drenched from the gore.

Then she spotted the little green things coming out of the shorter man's mouth.

Plants began to sprout from their eyes, ears, noses and mouths at an alarming rate. The officers tore at their faces desperately before collapsing on their knees. Tenten tried to get a better glimpse of the platinum blonde, but she had long gone before the officers had hit the ground.

Though the men remained immobile, the plants continued to grow and expand all over their bodies. Bright yellow and pink flowers bloomed from the thin green vines that had originally crawled out of the cavities of the men. In no time at all, the bodies were completely consumed by the flowers.

Slowly turning to her right Tenten spotted another girl. This one had her hair dyed pink, and was dodging sharp weapons being thrown at her. Deftly, the girl flew through the air and gracefully escaped several daggers aimed for her ankles. The girl turned to face the group of men chasing after her and proceeded to engage the four burly men in hand-to-hand combat.

Tenten was inwardly applauding the girl for not tripping over the long and loose red dress she was wearing.

Despite the men being at least twice her size, the pink haired girl seemed to be able to hold her own. One of the men let out a loud yelp as he attempted to grab the girl's wrist. Upon touching her hands he immediately became limp and his body slumped to the ground. The girl easily slipped out of the man's hold and went to batter and ram at the other two men that were still crowding around her.

The dress was ripped and torn at the bottom, but Tenten noted that the girl was grinning from ear-to-ear as she grabbed the first one closest to her by his wrist. Tenten's eyes widened when she saw the small girl manage to hurl him off of his feet and onto her back. The girl threw the comatose officer against the other two officers, giggling wickedly as the men fell to the dirt ground.

Once the two men were knocked down, the pink haired girl calmly walked over to the pile of bodies and gently tapped the foreheads of the officers. None of the four burly men got up after that.

"Did you see that?" she whispered in awe.

"Did _you_ see that?" Kiba asked back, while pointing off to his left.

Just as Tenten tried to peek over and see what Kiba was pointing at, Gai screamed at them, "What the fuck are you two doing laying on the ground?! Get the hell up and _run!_"

Dirt covered the entire front of his clothes, and he was breathing heavily through his nose as he stood over them. Gai was quick to extend a hand out to Tenten as she gently pulled herself up to her feet. She became very woozy upon standing fully, and she was forced to lean warily against Gai.

"Still think we can run, you dumbass?" Kiba scoffed at Gai.

"Running? Who said you could get away?" a familiar and unwanted voice asked them.

Temari stood behind them with her fan fully extended and poised above her head. "If you think one flick of the wrist was painful enough, just imagine what kind of damage a whole arm is gonna do," she threatened gleefully.

Kiba stupidly took a step forward to block Tenten from view, while muttering, "Just try it, bitch."

The fan dropped down an inch before something slammed into the blonde, knocking the fan out of her fingers. In a flash the figure was gone, leaving Temari angry and out for blood. Tenten glanced around the surroundings with the hope of finding the being that had crashed into the now fanless psychopath. Feeling eyes bore into her back, Tenten finally turning her eyes back to Temari.

Narrowed dark green eyes were focused intently on Tenten as Temari hissed out, "If you stay, you die. If you leave, you die. Only one of those options is going to be less painful, but rest assured," the pig-tailed woman sneered, "it won't be quick."

A blurred figure snuck up behind Temari just as the woman finished her threat. The woman's head snapped to the left as the shadow slapped the blond. Half a second later a solid 'slap' was heard from the attack.

The shadow materialized behind Temari, hand poised and ready to smack again if the need arose. Wearing a bandana that covered most of his brown hair, the man was chewing on a toothpick while glaring at Temari disapprovingly. Tenten stared at the man cautiously as Temari slowly lifted a hand to her bright red cheek, her face made of stone as she did so.

The man sighed out, "Why do you always feel the need to threaten people who are clearly below your skill level? I'm starting to think you're nothing more than a bully and those people never really get far in life, you know."

"Genma," Temari whispered out icily, "I will never forget this."

"I would be insulted it you did." Genma smiled wolfishly as he patted Temari on the head.

Tenten would've sworn on her life that she heard Temari's psyche snap.

Briskly, Temari placed two fingers to her lips and let out a piercing whistle. All noise was drowned out by the sound and, being so close to the noise, Tenten was forced to cover her ears in the hopes of dulling the trill. Next to her, Gai was also covering his ears, grinding his teeth together in pain. Kiba, however, was faring even worse than either of them.

He laid crouched on the ground, practically kissing the soil as he attempted to crawl away from Temari and the shrills she was producing. Tenten didn't even stop to think as she let go of her ears in favor of going over to Kiba. She knelt slowly and placed her hands on top of Kiba's ears when he was within reach.

After a minute or so, Tenten felt her ears 'pop,' but ignored them in favor of pressing her hands firmly on top of Kiba's hands. It was only when the noise died down to mere vibrations that she looked around her surroundings to see what was happening.

She only felt the smallest bit of satisfaction when she spotted that the rest of the officers had also stopped what they were doing in favor of covering their ears as well. Then she made the mistake of looking into the trees and felt her stomach drop.

As if time had stopped, Tenten watched with a growing terror that clawed at her stomach as branches slowly fell from the sky. They landed left, right and all over the place indiscriminately. Several of the fallen branches had already landed on top of the officers that were supposed to be on Temari's side. She felt little relief in realizing that the number of officers was decreasing.

It just meant that the officers weren't going to be the biggest obstacle they were going to have to cross over.

The man named Genma appeared before her in a flash and roughly grabbed her waist. He tried to pull her away from Kiba, but she tightened her iron grip on his ears. When Genma kicked Kiba away from them and into a thick shrub, she let out a shriek she couldn't hear. Startled at the discovery that she couldn't hear herself, she stopped resisting. Genma's hold tightened and then the ground disappeared from beneath her feet.

Branches whipped past her and tore at her clothes as she was hugged tightly to Genma's chest. She was too startled to do anything other than cling to the man who was holding her. Taking deep breaths, she attempted to calm herself down.

It was silent all around her, which meant that her ear drums were still shot. A small part of her was concerned about her hearing, but she put that off to the side. There were more important things that needed her immediate attention. She tightened her grip on the man's shirt as they moved faster than her eyes could keep up.

She felt them move like a flash around the branches, never staying in one place for longer than a second and their movements too sudden for her to adjust. Genma never let go of her waist and was careful when touching her back. It meant that he was aware of her injuries and was doing his best to not aggravate them any further.

Genma wasn't an enemy, but she couldn't put too much faith into someone she barely knew.

Tenten lifted her head a bit to try to get a better glimpse of this Genma person. As she moved her head, she felt the smallest of vibrations reverberate from the man's chest.

Who are you? She felt herself mouth.

Tenten felt the man's chest vibrate again and frowned angrily when she realized that she wouldn't be able to understand what the man was saying. Her hearing was temporarily disabled, and it didn't look like they were going to stop and have a slow enough chat so that she could read his lips. Fucking Temari.

As she looked at the zipping forest, she noted that it was getting darker. They had a while before it became pitch black in the Konoha forest, but it unnerved her that so much time had already slipped through their fingers. It also scared her shitless just thinking about facing the Akatsuki in the dark confines of her beloved forest.

A twig snagged the back of her shirt, and the sharp prick was enough to remind her of her poorly-put-back-together back. Though she hadn't been able to pay too much attention to it, Tenten's back was starting to burn in protest to all of her activities. The pain was slowly building up and she was having a hard time breathing as the pain intensified. As black spots started showing up in her vision, they finally slowed down.

She felt her feet bump the rough surface of bark as they landed on a branch. As she was set down gently she felt soft hands poke and prod at her back, which had become unbearable. Just when she thought that she wouldn't be able to take it anymore, Tenten felt a blissful numbness flood her back.

The pain vanished without a trace, leaving her sane and giving her the time to get herself together. Because her back had been numbed, she didn't notice when the hands left her back until they landed onto her ears. She stood frozen as the smooth and petite hands rubbed and pulled at her ears gently. From her peripheral, she saw the hands glow blue for a brief second before she felt her ears 'pop' again.

Sound assaulted her ears, and she almost wished for the silence back as she heard someone shout directly into her ear drums.

"I thought you had been _flattened_ like a pancake when that branch fell down on top of you!" Gai sobbed hysterically.

The man then proceeded to squeeze the air out of Tenten's lungs.

"Gai! Can't- breathe!" She gasped.

Someone pulled Gai off of her and Tenten saw the pink haired girl from earlier shake her fist angrily at Gai as she shouted at him, "I just fixed her, and your first response is to collapse her lungs?!"

Gai had the gall to look like he was about cry even harder as he sobbed out, "But Sakura! You don't understand!"

"Where's Kiba, and what the _fuck_ is going on?" Tenten screamed over the two of them.

"Kiba was kicked into the bushes just as the branch hit the ground where you two were crouched on. Ino is looking out for him now and she'll join us up here once she's found him." Sakura grumbled while folding her arms in front of her chest.

Confused even more, Tenten asked, "What branch?"

"You were too busy with Kiba to notice the branch that was about to fall on top of you guys. Just as the branch touched your head, Genma grabbed you and kicked Kiba out of harm's way," Gai supplied.

Tenten spluttered, "How did the branch-"

"Because Temari's a sore loser and just as we were about to hand her ass over on a silver platter, she summoned her stupid weasel," Sakura spat out as her large green eyes glared at something unseen.

"…"

"Her weasel carries a very large sickle." The disheveled girl demonstrated unhelpfully with her hands.

Sakura's demonstration was cut short, though, by shouts that were coming from behind them.

"Don't fucking drop me! Oh _hell_! Ino, fucking stop that!" Tenten heard Kiba scream.

"If you don't stop that, I _will _drop your ass and you can find some other way of getting back up here!" A female voice screeched back.

Flustered, beat red and clambering over towards them, were Kiba and the girl who had killed with plants earlier.

Ino was panting and sweating furiously as Kiba's arms tightened around her thin waist. Finally having enough of Kiba's death grip, the girl in purple pried Kiba's arms off of her and sprinted away from the sniffling idiot.

"Kiba," Tenten called out to him loudly as she carefully walked over to him.

His eyes were glued shut, and he refused to leave the base of the tree where the branch they all stood on was connected. Gently, she placed her hands onto his shoulders and sat down next to him. Kiba turned to her and hugged her fiercely when she got close enough to him.

Surprisingly, Gai stood quietly next to them and allowed Tenten to handle their frantic friend.

"I should have listened to my mother when she suggested I just stay at home and start my own doggy daycare business or something less _batshit_ crazy than all of this," she heard him gasp into her ears.

Hugging him tighter, she reassured him, "It's okay now. We'll get through this."

"You must be Tenten," one of the girls interrupted. "Hi! Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. We're the team that was sent to retrieve you guys and bring you back to the compound. Before we can do that, though, Gai told us about a box containing important information. Do you still have it?"

Kiba calmly let go of Tenten as she made to stand up and face whichever girl it was that had asked her the question. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't able to bring it with me. It's back at the office."

"Is it secure?" Sakura asked as she walked closer to Tenten.

Tenten wasn't sure about that, but she answered, "As far as I'm aware, Temari didn't touch it."

Coming up from behind the pink haired girl, Ino said, "Temari isn't our main concern. So long as you can take us to your office, Sakura," the blond put her arms around the smaller girl, "and I can protect you and help you bring that box back with us."

"Get off of me Ino, you reek!" Sakura pinched her nose childishly as she pushed the taller girl away from herself.

Ino huffed as she put her hands to her hips, but continued on, "Genma can take care of these guys down below us. Sakura and I should be able to give you guys enough cover to get back into the office without too much trouble. We have to be fast, though. Anko and the rest of our team got stopped by some of the Akatsuki members and we lost communication with them."

"We'd like to get back to our friends as quickly as possible," Sakura added quietly.

Numbly, Tenten nodded her head slowly, "Yes, of course. Just keep to us and we should be able walk there in less than 30 minutes."

"Wait! We have to _walk_?" Ino squawked.

"Ino!" Sakura smacked the blond's shoulder lightly.

"No, we don't have to," Tenten quickly amended. "Not unless the jeep's been smashed to bits."

Just as the words left her mouth, something exploded in the background.

"I'm pretty sure that was the jeep," Kiba said humorlessly.

"They're not part of your team, are they?" Gai asked loudly, pointing to something down below.

"Who is?" Ino rushed over to Gai and bent down to see who the man was pointing to.

Ino cursed once she got a good view of who Gai was pointing to.

"Gaara and Kankuro just showed up!" Ino squeaked out.

"We need to leave. Now!" Sakura ordered as she grabbed Tenten.

Tenten started, "What are you-"

The branch swayed perilously as something shot out and looped around the branch. Hairline cracks shot through the branch they stood on and extremely unwanted 'snap' sounds drowned out Kiba's screeching. Tenten would have lost her footing had it not been for Sakura's nimble reflexes.

Though she was embarrassed to do so, Tenten clung to the girl, who was smaller than her, as the branch broke in half and flung them all into the air. Tenten glanced around quickly, trying to spot her companions and make sure that they hadn't fallen. She heard Ino scream something about her hips and knew that Kiba would be okay.

_But where is Gai? _she panicked.

As if sensing her concern, Sakura said, "Don't worry about Gai, Genma's probably got him. Just point me to your office. I'm sure everyone's smart enough to put two plus two together and meet us back there.

"I'll wait for Ino, though, because that Kiba guy is probably too scared to figure out anything right now."

Tenten snorted, "That's an extremely accurate assumption."

They landed smoothly on another branch and only stopped long enough for Ino to catch up to them. Kiba was limp on Ino's back as the platinum blond leaped down next to them. She looked much better now that she didn't have to deal with Kiba's phobia of heights.

"What did you do?" Tenten heard Sakura ask Ino uncertainly.

Ino nodded nonchalantly, "One of Gaara's sand hands knocked him out."

"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura agreed dubiously.

Tenten observed their surroundings and felt light headed as relief flooded her when she realized that she could still recognize where they were. She tapped Sakura's shoulder. "You need to head slightly left and then down below, you'll see a small trail. Follow that, and we'll be there in no time."

Ino nodded her head while Sakura adjusted her grip on Tenten's back, asking earnestly, "Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt at all. Thank you," Tenten said.

Genma's voice rung out jovially, "Last one to the base is a rotten egg!"

Something blurred past them, startling Sakura which in turn forced the girl to readjust the grip she had on Tenten. Her green eyes blazed as she stared ahead and towards the blur that was advancing ahead of them.

Sakura nearly blew Tentens' ears out with the yell that the pink haired girl let out, "Oi! You think this is funny, Genma?! Don't make me sic Anko on your dumbass!" The shrew of a girl threatened as they both moved to follow Genma.

From the distance, Tenten heard laughter.

The laughter only served to make Sakura angrier, which caused her to leap through the trees faster. Tenten tightened her grip, confidant that they would all make it to the box safely.

* * *

><p><em>The<em>_ more the man-beast struggled against the tendrils, the tighter the chains wrapped around Mizuki. Though there were some tendrils wrapped around his neck, the location of the binds didn't deter Mizuki in the slightest. If anything, they only served to anger him further and fuel his actions. _

_Letting__ out a roar, the stripes became more pronounced and thicker as Mizuki began thrashing wildly about. At one point during the tantrum, he managed to stumble over to the brick wall and smash a hole right through it. Anywhere his feet landed or stomped, he created a crater or a crack on the concrete floor. The chains merely grew thicker and started turning a light pink color._

_Though__ Mizuki's frenzy was putting fear into the hearts of the men sent to capture him, Sasuke noted that Kisame only appeared bored as he looked on. With a flick of his wrist, the tendrils became sharp wires that pierced and broke skin the more the man-beast struggled. The water was now a dark red that dripped in thick droplets from Mizuki's being. _

_It__ took a while, but eventually, Mizuki dropped to the floor in an exhausted heap. _

_"__Get__ him into the van," Sasuke heard Kisame mutter irritably._

_As__ Mizuki's eyes closed, the surrounding area grew dark and began to blur out of focus. When Sasuke blinked, everything vanished and was completely replaced by the darkness. It was so quiet; he could perfectly hear his heartbeat and the puffs of air he let in and out. Nothing happened for a few more minutes, and Sasuke began to panic._

_What__ if the hint he had needed to see was in that brief memory Mizuki had just shown him? Was that it? All he saw was Mizuki getting captured by Kisame, and what did that have to do with anything other than Mizuki being more involved with the Clans than he had thought? Did that mean that Naruto had also known about the Clans? Could he and Naruto have had an honest discussion about the Clans, when he had thought this whole time that Naruto didn't know anything about the Clans? Or that Naruto was more than capable of-_

_Why__ was he thinking about Naruto at a time like this?_

_A__ rectangular shaped light blasted out of the dark on his right side. Knowing that that was his cue to go, Sasuke hurried over towards the doorway and into the light. As he walked through the doorway, he was enveloped by the pungent smell of copper and the sound of someone coughing violently. _

_As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, the environment eventually cleared and came into focus again. _

_Sasuke__ spotted Mizuki in the middle of the room kneeling on the ground with his arms tied behind his back, as Kisame held him steady by pushing down on his shoulders. Though Sasuke could only see Mizuki's back, the boy knew that the man had sustained injuries that could turn fatal if not treated right away. Mizuki was breathing heavily and the extra weight that was being pushed on him, thanks to Kisame, was not helping. _

_The__ grey haired man's pants were ripped and tattered to pieces, speckled with the blood that was dripping from Mizuki's torso. Even the back of his hair was flecked red. The skin on his back that wasn't lacerated was painted black and blue all over. _

_A__ familiar looking young woman with short, dark hair stood quietly in front of him, looking down on Mizuki with disdain in her eyes. She was tall and covered from head-to-toe in a cloak that hid everything except for her eerily familiar face. The cloak had the signature red clouds that were affiliated with the Akatsuki._

_She__ took a step closer to Mizuki, before pulling out a little square piece of paper from the pocket of her cloak. "Do you know what this is?" she asked him quietly._

_Mizuki__ looked up and at the paper, before spitting blood into her face._

_In __a flash, Mizuki was on the ground and screaming as Kisame snapped the grey haired man's arms. As Mizuki lay withering on the rug and roaring profanities, the woman merely wiped the blood off of her face using the piece of paper she had held in front of the previously kneeling man._

_Faster__ than Sasuke could follow she folded a tiny, paper rat, and dropped it to the ground, her eyes never leaving Mizuki's battered form. The rat scurried around the woman's feet, before taking off towards the doorway Sasuke had just walked through. The rat scuttled into the darkness that Sasuke couldn't see into. As the rat vanished, he heard something give out a squeak and then nothing more._

_"__Mizuki__, we've had enough of your antics. Either give us the child, or you die and we still take the child. It's honestly that simple," the woman complained._

_The light orbs were fluttering around the room gently, giving Sasuke plenty of light. __He__ took a small breath before walking further into the room, doing his best to gather as much information as possible by glancing around the space. The furniture was off to the side, allowing for the interrogation to take place in the center of the room. The room had dull grey rug flooring with plain furniture that consisted of a single long rectangular table with two chairs. The window was covered by a thick black curtain that was doing an excellent job of keeping prying eyes from seeing what was happening inside. _

_Looking__ at the floor a second time, though, he noted the abnormal amount of dirt and dust that was interlaced throughout the rug. Other than the dirt on the floor, the room was painfully dull and appeared to hold nothing of interest in it aside from the interrogation that was taking place._

_The__ woman's face was twisted wryly as she asked, "Are you worried about the child's safety, Mizuki?"_

_That__ sounded awfully familiar, too, but for the life of him, Sasuke could not figure out where he had seen this woman before._

_She__ continued on gently, as she kneeled down next to the prone Mizuki, "You know he's too precious and vital for us to treat him like we treated his parents. If they had just given us the child when we had first requested, none of those things would have happened to them. None of this would be happening to you._

_"__Just__ give us the child and we'll leave you alone." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that, and we won't even mention your name."_

_As__ Sasuke walked closer to where Mizuki lay, he finally got a full view of the injuries the man was suffering from. His sternum was slightly caved in as the entire front of his body was __drenched in blood. Sasuke couldn't even begin to count the number of injuries Mizuki had that ranged from gashes, broken ribs, a busted lip and black eyes. _

_It__ was Mizuki's eyes that struck Sasuke the most, though. Despite all the pain that would have broken most ordinary men, clarity shown through them and pierced all who looked into them. Lucidity and a desire to fight back came off of the man in waves._

_Mizuki__ was no ordinary man. _

_"__We've__ witnessed only the peak of the iceberg when it comes to the child. And if what little he can do now is incredible, I can't even _imagine_ the things he'll be able to do with direction and practice. _Proper_ direction and practice. Neither of which you'll be able to give if you're constantly on the run from us," the woman snapped out._

_As__ the woman went prattling on, Mizuki slowly raised his foot and brought it down harshly against the floor. "Over my dead body," Mizuki whispered._

_No__ sooner had the words left Mizuki's mouth, did the floor crumble out from under him. The man disappeared through the hole he had created, leaving behind a cursing Kisame and a shrieking woman in his place. _

_While__ in the process of watching Mizuki disappear through the hole, Sasuke noticed the little dirt particles floating in the air around the same time as the woman and Kisame did. He watching in awe as the little dirt particles started to gain mass and begin to grow at a dangerous rate._

_"__Follow__ him!" The dark haired woman ordered Kisame._

_"_Follow me, Sasuke!_" the brunet heard Mizuki shout to him through the hole._

_Putting__ aside his questions for the moment, the boy ran after Mizuki and dove into the hole, feet first. Before he fell through the hole completely, though, he cast one last glance at Kisame and the woman who was making him feel as if he was missing something important._

_ She wore the Akatsuki cloak, so she was obviously working for Nagato, but she wasn't on the list of the known members in the Akatsuki. It was possible that she was one of the unknown members, but then, why did she look so familiar? _

_The__ woman was still kneeling on the floor, staring at the hole with hard eyes that screamed murder. _

"Keep up, Sasuke," _Mizuki's voice called out to him._

_Sasuke__ landed on the soles of his feet smoothly as he escaped through the exit that Mizuki had opened up. He felt panic begin to settle in his chest, though, as he heard a loud '_crack'_ and felt debris fall onto his face. One glance up at the ceiling confirmed his suspicion as he spotted Kisame's feet dangling from the hole that he had just leapt from._

_Forcing__ himself to turn away from the laughable image, Sasuke scanned the room for Mizuki's form. Looking to the floor on his right, he spotted bloody binds and red footsteps that led his eyes straight to Mizuki's bleeding form._

_When__ Sasuke finally ran over to Mizuki, the man was leaning heavily onto the walls as he limped away quickly. The urge to help the battered man along was overwhelming, but the fact remained that this was merely a memory of the past. And obviously Mizuki had survived this encounter, so why should Sasuke worry? _

_As__ Sasuke walked along with Mizuki, he did his best to ignore the loud noises that were coming from Kisame and instead focused on the grey haired man. Mizuki was grimacing as he walked, making pained expressions. Sasuke wasn't surprised; the man had obviously been through a tremendous amount of pain and was forcing himself to get back on his feet. Sasuke was shocked he had been able to lift a single foot. _

_He__ saw Mizuki take a deep breath, before Sasuke heard several little 'snaps' escape from the man's form. Looking as Mizuki's suddenly fixed sternum confirmed Sasuke's hunch. All the cuts Mizuki had previously __sustained__ were now steaming as the wounds closed themselves shut. As he watched on, the wounds slowly began to disappear and the man's face turned into something less human and more animal. _

_Pleasantly__ surprised, Sasuke watched on as more of the wounds disappeared and stripes began to take their place. Mizuki's body slowly began to take on an inhuman form._

_The__ man's teeth elongated and sharpened to fangs as Mizuki let out a powerful roar and turned around to face Kisame. Mizuki's back arched and muscles all over his body went into overdrive as they grew and expanded. By the time Mizuki's body stopped growing, the man's head was slightly bent in order to not bump it against the ceiling._

_Kisame__ was on the same floor as them once Sasuke bothered to turn around and check on the other man. With an annoyed sigh, Sasuke noted that Kisame had also undergone his own modifications by the time he had shaken off all of the ruined ceiling from his shoulders. Gills were sprouting from his thickened neck and the sharp fangs looked cramped as they covered the entirety of the inside of Kisame's mouth. _

_Briefly__, Sasuke wondered how much it would hurt if Kisame bit his tongue while eating._

_Growling__, Kisame let out, "I've wanted to do this for some time now, Mizuki. The fight won't be as good, though, cause we already know who's going to win at the end of this all. Nagato's probably already got a hold of the baby as we speak."_

_For__ all his attempts at goading Mizuki,__ the grey haired ma__n simply took a step toward Kisame before shooting forward at the man. The sound of flesh-meeting-flesh was a loud enough warning for Sasuke to cover his ears. It wasn't even a whole second later, when both let out a roar of their own that vibrated the walls and caused the floor to quack. Sasuke snapped his eyes closed as the noise invaded his ears and shook him to his core._

_He__ opened his eyes again when the noise ceased and only the grunts of the two beast-like men still fighting remained. As the tiger and shark grappled with each other, it became clear to Sasuke as to whom had the upper hand._

_Mizuki's__ face contorted into one of frustration as he slowly shrunk. Inch by inch, Mizuki lost height, weight and muscle to Kisame. The shark's grin widened and the fangs were displayed threateningly. Getting cocky, Kisame took a step forward and harshly pushed Mizuki back a few inches._

_Despite his diminished form__, Mizuki kept his cool and strategically placed his foot to face the side. The tiger stripes remained and it didn't appear that his guide__ had lost his strength, only his size._

_Confusion__ flashed in the eyes of Kisame, while Mizuki only glowered and, taking advantage of the shark's miscalculation, took a step forward. More confusion appeared in Kisame's eyes as he was forced to take a step back unless he wanted to fall on his ass. Mizuki pushed forward again and, as Kisame was forced to take another step back, something brown shot out of the floor and grabbed a hold of the shark's foot._

_The__ shark let out a growl as he felt the brown entity wrap around his entire leg and pull him to the ground. It crumbled and cracked like dirt, as it quickly crawled up Kisame's body. The shark was frantic in his attempts at dislodging the dirt, only to have the dirt pile up onto his arms. Kisame was glaring hatefully at Mizuki as the man began turning his back to the scene._

_"__This__ isn't over. We'll just keep coming back with more power and more violence. You won't be able to protect him forever," the shark screamed from underneath the dirt._

_Quietly__, Mizuki merely said over his shoulder, "I know."_

_Retreating__ quickly, Sasuke followed the man and noted that the stripes remained on Mizuki as the tiger ran out of the hall and found a staircase. Mizuki leapt up the stairs seven steps at a time, forcing Sasuke to run hard in order to keep up. Finally, after they had passed two floors, Mizuki stopped and__ turned onto the floor._

_Just__ as the striped man walked through the threshold, everything around them glowed a bright blue. Symbols as old as the Clans' Beginning, beemed at him from all angles of the hallway they had just entered._

_Ahead__ of them, toward the very end of the hall, light streamed out of a door that was wide open._

_The__ striped Mizuki beside him froze for a second, before he let out a quiet, "No!" _

_"_What is this_?" Sasuke finally breathed._

_Mizuki__ whispered from above, "_The finale._" _

_As__ the striped Mizuki bolted toward the end of the hall, Sasuke walked at a much slower pace to observe the ancient symbols that covered everything. He touched the writings gently, admiring the beauty and magnitude of power one would need in order to use them._

_Not__ even his father and brother combined would be able to call such ancient spells._

_"_Sasuke,_" he heard Mizuki command gently._

_Letting__ go of the wall, Sasuke hurried over to where he had last spotted his guide run off to. He put the mystery of the symbols in the back-burner of his brain as he rushed into the only room with its door wide open for all to enter._

_Upon__ entering, Sasuke immediately spotted a tense Mizuki ball his hands into fists. The man was glaring at the macabre image in the middle of the room._

_Standing__ naked and dripping blood onto something that was bundled in a blanket he was holding stood Nagato. Though his hair was red, Sasuke could still make out that it was Nagato from the piercings on his face. _

How the hell had Nagato survived through the ancient spells?_ The question tortured Sasuke's mind as he watched the scene unfold._

_Mizuki__ spat out, "Let him go."_

_"__Would__ you really deprive this child of all the possibilities? Even now, he's got the world at his feet and he doesn't even know it."_

_"__I __doubt he would want to be trained by the man who had his parents killed."_

_Nagato__ simply waved his hand dismissively, "Minor details he can get over, surely."_

_"__I__ could kill you, right here and now. You've no energy to escape or let out a charm," Mizuki threatened._

_Nagato__ glared and snapped, "You know as well as I do that it doesn't take much to kill a baby."_

_"__It__ does if you wanna kill the one in your arms," Mizuki argued back as his nails elongated into sharp claws._

_"__True,__" Nagato mourned._

_Mizuki__ took several steps toward the bleeding Nagato and speckled baby, till he was directly in front of the pair. With quick and careful hands, Mizuki removed the baby from Nagato's arms and placed the blanket covered bundle onto his shoulder._

_"__You've__ won this time, and maybe you'll win next time and the time after that. But for how long? Will you allow this baby to grow accustomed to a life a running instead of teaching him the tools of the trade?" Nagato asked._

_"__Nagato__," Mizuki breathed heavily through his nose, "You have no right to give me a lecture on child-raising. Especially with how you raised that _thing_ you call a nephew." The grey haired man and the baby were pulling away now, heading over towards the door._

_Nagato__ chuckled out, "His parents died unexpectedly and I happened to just so conveniently be on the lookout for extraordinary children. I was doing Kyuubi a favor by not letting such talents go to waste."_

_"__His__ parents saw what their child was capable of and had planned to kill him. Then when the plan backfired on them, resulting in their deaths, you took the opportunity to take Kyuubi into your own guild," Mizuki blazed as he turned around to face Nagato again._

_In__ a harsher tone, Mizuki hissed, "And then when you heard about Naruto, you tried to do the same with him."_

_The__ room burst into a kaleidoscope of color briefly, forcing Sasuke to close his eyes again. When he opened them, symbols colored the walls and floors of the room they all stood in. Nagato and Mizuki stood calmly facing each other, ignoring the slowly swirling symbols._

_"__Please__," Nagato sneered. "You can barely stand, let alone finish this spell off."_

_"__You're__ right about that. It's a good thing I've got this little guy to help me out."_

_Gently__, Mizuki shook Naruto till the little bright blue eyes opened wide. As the baby became more aware, his large eyes started gathering water and his lips began to tremble. Finally, the baby let out a little hiccup, before releasing a full wail._

_Like__ a trigger, the spell activated and the symbols surrounded Nagato._

_As__ Naruto wailed louder, the symbols gathered closer around the naked man. At a speed Sasuke's eyes could barely keep up with, he saw the symbols attach themselves onto the body of Nagato. Soon, the man had his entire body colored bright green from the symbols that had attached themselves onto him._

_Despite__ knowing what the spell was doing to him, Nagato stood firmly and allowed the symbols to do as they pleased. Dark and light greens swirled frantically around the man's frame; brighter and brighter the green glowed as the spell attempted to swallow the man whole. Throughout this process, Nagato's wide eyes never left the wailing child's frame._

_"__Remarkable,__" w__ere Nagato's last words as the charms quickly ate him from the outside-in._

_Without letting out another peep, Nagato's body started to gradually lose its shape and size. Undeterred by the state his body was in, the spell-infested man raised a single arm and took a few steps forward. Mizuki's only response was to hold Naruto tighter against his chest._

_From__ above, Mizuki narrated, "_The spells you saw in the hallway were not of my creation." _Sasuke heard Mizuki breath out,_ "If I had that kind of power, I wouldn't have had that much trouble escaping Kisame." _The voice chuckled._

_Mizuki didn't need to take any more steps away from Nagato, thanks to the spell's breakneck response to Nagato's proximity to Naruto. The closer Nagato inched towards the pair, the faster the spells acted._

_Nagato fell to the floor, his legs no longer in a state to hold him up properly, with his diminishing hand still reaching out towards Naruto. Mizuki and Sasuke only continued to stare dispassionately as the man's body shriveled and dwindled away right before their eyes._

"Before his parents died, they booby-trapped this entire building and set it up so that it would activate if Nagato got within 5 miles of this place. The closer the man got to Naruto, the deadlier the spells became in their nature towards any alien presence. It's pretty much the only reason I was able to fend off Konan and Kisame."

_Mizuki__ and the baby were walking away from Nagato's remains. Sheltering Naruto's face gently against his chest, Sasuke watched as the man caressed the baby with faltering fingers. From what Sasuke could make out, Naruto was now asleep._

"I'm sure you know who Kisame is, but did you recognize the female that was interrogating me? You remember Konan, right? She was the one who posed as Social Services and took Naruto away from me."

_Numbly__, Sasuke nodded._

"Anyway," _Mizuki continued on, _"I didn't create the spells that destroyed all six of his bodies. It was with the joint effort of Naruto and his parents that they were able to weaken Nagato enough that the man backed off and didn't bother us for some time. Naruto and his parents are also the reason Nagato had to go off and search for new bodies to replace the ones he lost here."

_Though__ Sasuke was absorbing all of the information, his eyes never left the pair that were in front of him. He was vigilant of the pair and drank in the sight of them, ignoring the small pit in his stomach that was forming as he watched them._

"Even when he was just a baby," _Mizuki interrupted, "_Naruto was able to create fatal spells and send for creatures when we most needed them. If Nagato managed to get his hands on him, Naruto's wails activated the spells and then Nagato would be torn to pieces."

_The__ image of Mizuki and baby Naruto blurred and faded out to another image of the two. This time, a diapered Naruto was crawling on polished floorboards towards an immobile and bleeding Mizuki. A quick glance at the grey haired man's eyes let Sasuke know that the man was down and out for the count._

_Sasuke watched on as the baby, only a little bit bigger than the last image of Naruto, clambered on top of the battered Mizuki and turned to face Nagato._

_Naruto looked defiant._

_Stoic__, Sasuke saw a different bodied Nagato slowly approach the pair. Once the man was within a foot of Naruto, the baby let out a soft whimper and reached out a hand towards the pierced man. From Naruto's tiny hand, a single blue thread of light shot out and stabbed a small hole through Nagato's head._

_The__ scene faded out, and Sasuke was left in the darkness with Mizuki by his side. _

"After getting his fourth batch of bodies annihilated, Nagato stopped coming after us and sent his Akatsuki team in his stead. Nagato couldn't afford another blow from Naruto, because Naruto had done something different in his last spell. I haven't the faintest idea as to what it was, though, due to the fact that I was damn near dead."

_Slowly__, the darkness surrounding them began to clear up and light was shining down on them in thin beams. The more Sasuke blinked, the more illuminated the area seemed to get. Finally, a light flashed and Sasuke was back at the bottom of the little pond he was first led to._

"It was always Naruto that was able to deliver the final blow."

"Then why, after all this time, hasn't Naruto killed Nagato yet?" _Sasuke asked._

_Angrily__, Mizuki gripped, "_Nagato's holding something over him, and I'm pretty sure you know what that someone is._"_

_"_But you're right here, in front of me._" Sasuke argued._

_Mizuki__ chose to ignore Sasuke blatant display of denial, "_You need to get them both out of Nagato's hands. Right now, as we speak, Nagato, Kyuubi and the majority of the Akatsuki guild are heading this way. If you can find some way to trap Kyuubi and keep him away from Nagato, Naruto will be able to make his escape and you'll be able to plan-_"_

_Panicking__, Sasuke shouted, "_How do you know Nagato is heading this way?"

"I'll explain later, but just listen to me!"

_Noticing__ that the floor was disappearing from beneath his feet, Sasuke asked, _"Why not just take Naruto? If what you're saying is true and most of the Akatsuki is heading over here then that must mean Naruto's been left unguarded. Tell me where he is and I can bring him back!_"_

_Mizuki__ grabbed his shoulders roughly and said urgently, "_They're here! You need to get out!_"_

_"_And you're coming with me!_" Sasuke shouted frantically._

_A __bright flash blinded Sasuke, and he felt Mizuki start to push him away, but Sasuke only reached out and grasped the man's wrist. Mizuki didn't struggle as Sasuke pulled them both out of the blinding light._

* * *

><p>The fact that it was so quiet unnerved her. It meant that all of the animals in the area had fled. Whenever that happened, it was because the animals were hyper-aware of the danger in the area and didn't want to be around when shit hit the fan.<p>

Tenten quickly ushered them all into the building, waiting for them to enter before coming through the door last to close the door behind her. Gai and Kiba were at the head of the group and were running up the flight of stairs to the sixth floor, where Gai's office was located. Ino looked like she was going to protest, but one glare from Sakura silenced any petulance that might have escaped her mouth.

Genma was close behind Kiba, followed by the two girls, leaving Tenten at the rear. Paranoid with good reason, Tenten looked behind her shoulder at every chance she got. By the time they reached Gai's office,a small crick in her neck had started to develop.

Once they reached Gai's office, the man turned around to ask Tenten where she had put the box. Tenten bolted toward the Gai's closet, plugging her nose and digging quickly through Gai's repugnant gym clothes. She grabbed the box and shut the closet door with a loud 'bang.'

Genma held his arms out smoothly, "Let me see that."

Tenten did so without hesitation, letting him deal with the mystery that Naruto had left them all to deal with. As far as she had gathered, it wasn't like she could do much with the box anyways.

As soon as Genma's fingers touched the box, the top exploded and fire exploded from inside the box. Startled, Tenten dropped the box to the floor and they all watched as the box glowed a dull green for a moment. The papers that were within the box turned to ash right before their eyes.

From inside the box, a beam of bright green light shot out. The sides of the box took on some weird symbols that Tenten had never seen in her life. Still spitting out smoke, the box started shaking before unfolding itself and laying itself flat on the floor. Symbols continued to drift up from the small flames on the box and float aimlessly around their feet.

She was sorely tempted to touch them, but restrained herself as she asked, "What are these?"

Genma didn't answer her right away; he merely bent down to the floor and grabbed a symbol. Ino and Sakura were also crouched on the floor, staring in awe at the symbols. Kiba and Gai were in the same boat as Tenten and had taken to standing absolutely still as the symbols glided between their feet.

"Stop staring at them and start attaching them to the walls." Genma directed at the girls harshly as he chewed on his toothpick.

The girls scurried to catch the floating symbols, hissing slightly as the symbols glowed brighter in their hands once they were touched. Genma, Sakura and Ino bustled about with the symbols, fastening them to the walls of the office.

It was much darker outside once the box was done spewing out symbols. By the time Genma grabbed the last symbol, Gai's office walls were covered from floor to ceiling with the glowing green symbols. Kiba and Tenten had settled themselves on top of Gai's desk, watching in wonder as the symbols glowed and shifted at different intervals.

Ino and Sakura's hands were sporting several blisters and burns from the heat that the symbols apparently emitted. Sakura was having a hard time healing the small wounds for some reason, but Genma let Tenten know that the wounds wouldn't interfere with anything.

"So, what's all of this?" Kiba asked.

"A gift, it seems." Genma answered, still looking at the symbols in disbelief.

"The spells are split up three ways evenly for: trapping, protecting and attacking. So long as we stay in this building, we'll be safe and able to defend ourselves against _any_ Akatsuki member that gets within 5 miles of this building. The closer the members get to this building, the more hostile and powerful the spells get." Sakura supplied easily.

"But you've only put the symbol thingies in this room," Kiba argued.

"Over here," Sakura pointed excitedly at something that resembled the infinity symbol, "is a replication charm that copies whatever spells are on the walls and duplicates them into all of the walls of this building."

"Yeah, but what's this about 'trapping'?" Ino pointed to some symbols on the window that looked like a square containing swirls.

Genma shrugged his shoulders while Sakura responded, "Beats me."

Green lights blinded everyone in the room as something exploded outside.

* * *

><p>When Sasuke awoke, it was to a darkening forest and a cold floor.<p>

He let out a soft curse upon realizing that he was drenched from the pond water.

Shivering, he drew his arms around himself in the hopes of creating friction and generating some heat. He was too wet and cold to summon a flame, and even if he was freezing, Sasuke didn't dare call attention to himself. He wasn't sure how much time had passed or if it was even safe to be alone.

Standing up on quivering legs, Sasuke began the trek back to the explosion site, hoping against hope that he wasn't too late for anything. He was so fatigued, sore and desperate to get back to his family; he barely noticed the body that was behind him.

A gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him from getting too far from the pond.

"Sasuke, how did you-?" Whispered a shaky voice to him, before the same hand holding Sasuke turned him around to fully face Mizuki.

Unsurprised, Sasuke asked, "How did I what?"

"How did you manage to get me out of the trap? I've tried for years and the only good I could do was pull Naruto to this area of the forest."

Confused even more, Sasuke said, "I just grabbed a hold and didn't let go."

A grin split Mizuki's face, and the man said nothing else as he let go of Sasuke's shoulder.

A loud 'boom' wiped the grin from Mizuki's face and replaced it with a sneer. The ground trembled ever-so slightly beneath them. Locating the primary area where the 'boom' was heard, Sasuke grabbed Mizuki's wrist and hauled them both towards the location where the blast had come from.

As they ran towards the sounds, Mizuki explained, "I've been trapped in this forest for the past two years with nothing to do but get acquainted with the forest and its inhabitants. The animals here kept an eye on Naruto for me and the spirit of the Forest allowed me to strengthen myself until the day would come when I could break free.

"There is virtually nothing that is happening in this forest that I don't already know about," Mizuki finished hurriedly.

"So what's happening right now?" Sasuke asked.

Mizuki grinned evilly as he replied, "Just as Naruto's spells got cast, two members of the Akatsuki tried infiltrating the building and were promptly thrown out."

"Wait, Naruto's here!?" Sasuke said excitedly.

Mizuki frowned sadly as he shook his head.

"Can you see what my dad and Ibiki are up to? What about Anko's team-"

"Give me a minute! It takes me a bit before I can see and figure out what's going on."

The man brought his hands together in a prayer position and closed his eyes. Despite his lack of vision, the man never lost his pace or footing as they continued on with their running. Eyes pinched shut, the man muttered something before taking off towards the treetops.

Cursing, Sasuke followed Mizuki up the trees and waited as the man crouched tensely on the branch he sat on. Mizuki kept mumbling something foreign, probably the forest language, until he abruptly shut up and turned to Sasuke.

"Your father and Ibiki are fine. It's the others that are going through some problems with number and strength."

Mizuki turned to Sasuke and fixed him with a hard stare, "You know the direction in which that last boom was heard from, right?"

Sasuke nodded, confused.

"If you keep heading in that direction, you'll find the building where Naruto's spells were cast. But just a little bit over to the left, you'll find Kyuubi in the middle of a tantrum and attempting to decimate the forest. I need you to bring Kyuubi over to the building where Naruto cast his trapping spells."

"Okay, but what about you?"

"I'm going to try to summon some help, but I need space and privacy in order to get the chant just right."

"What are you sum-"

"Sasuke," Mizuki said loudly, "the longer you sit here asking me questions the worse your chances are going to get with capturing Kyuubi."

"But why does it have to be me?" Sasuke argued.

"Because you're probably the only one capable of keeping Kyuubi pissed off long enough to not pay attention to his surroundings. Just get him to follow you to the building, and Naruto's trap will do the rest. Okay?"

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled out.

Mizuki's gaze softened, and he placed a hand gently on top of Sasuke's head. Ruffling his hair the grey haired man grinned mischievously, even after Sasuke pulled away from Mizuki's reach. A heavy pit had formed in Sasuke stomach and his throat felt too tight.

Something was wrong.

As if sensing Sasuke's concern, Mizuki mumbled out softly, "It wasn't your fault."

Not expecting that at all, Sasuke stumbled, "What?"

"Nagato played us all. He knew where and when to strike, how to get me to stumble and lose my grip on Naruto. I don't blame you for what happened to me and Naruto. What matters right now is that we're pulling together to fix the mess Nagato's made."

Not feeling the least bit better at what should have been reassuring words, Sasuke whispered, "Don't you want to see Naruto?"

"I'll see him later. We all will. But for now, you need to go." Mizuki took a step closer to Sasuke as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sasuke began to say something, but was too shocked to finish it when Mizuki pushed Sasuke off the branch and the man blurred out of sight. The grey haired man's expression had been concealed by his drooping bangs as he disappeared into the night.

It left an unpleasant burden on Sasuke's shoulders.

* * *

><p>The forest had long ago warned him about the little scorpions that were tailing him. They had been the reason Mizuki had had to cut his conversation with Sasuke so abruptly. If he hadn't moved the boy, Sasuke would have been stung by the deadly creatures.<p>

They were after him, not Sasuke, which was why he put such an emphasis on separating himself from Naruto's best friend. While Sasuke fell to the ground, Mizuki took flight and was evading the scorpions with ease now that he no longer had to worry about protecting Sasuke.

He could feel the ground tremble beneath his feet and the air was practically sizzling with energy as he breathed in deeply through his nose. Mizuki would bet money if he were to rip into the base of a tree with his bare hands, he would see sparks fly out. The forest was almost ready to join in the fight.

Everything had to be perfect in order for this set up to work out in their favor.

Faster and faster, Mizuki's shoes kicked up dirt as he flew through the forest in the direction of the pocket of weapons Naruto had been secretly working on.

It was true that Mizuki could simply ask the forest to help him in his quest to do as much damage as possible to the Akatsuki, but the forest wasn't powerful enough to do that sort thing. The only thing the forest could do, at the moment, to the Akatsuki is slow them down, and that wouldn't give the Uchiha's nearly enough time to escape with Kyuubi. No, what the forest needed was a big boost of power left behind in the underground garden Naruto had been forced to leave behind.

The garden was within reach now. It would only take a gentle touch to the soil in order to remove the barrier that was concealing the garden from prying eyes. Once that was removed, the forest would be granted the energy it would need to inflict some serious punishment onto the Akatsuki.

As Mizuki walked over towards the garden, a voice whispered, "They call me a monster, but that's only because they don't know about the things you've done for the sake of protecting Naruto."

Tapping the soil he was crouched on, Mizuki chose to ignore Sasori's words in favor of completing the spell. The barrier came undone and effervescent greens misted out from the soil, spreading out to the surrounding area and beyond.

"I wouldn't run if I were you, this'll only hurt more if you try to avoid it." Mizuki replied hoarsely as he got up from the ground and turned to face the petite man who was hidden away in the shadows.

"If those threats didn't stop you, why do you think they'll stop me?" Sasori said as he stepped away from the safety of the shadows and displayed himself fully.

Mizuki joked, "One of us will eventually learn, right?"


End file.
